


The Green, Green Grass Of Home

by NeverTooOldToBeNerdy



Series: It's Not That Easy Being Green [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Celtic Mythology, Doctor Strange (Comics), Greek and Roman Mythology, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Norse Religion & Lore, Teen Wolf (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Derek, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Danny Mahealani, BAMF Derek Hale, BAMF Lydia Martin, BAMF Melissa McCall, BAMF Sheriff Stilinski, BAMF Stiles, But not every canon death (maybe), Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Chris Argent & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Derek Uses His Words, Derek and Stiles Cuddle, Elemental Magic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Gen, Helpful Deaton, M/M, Magical Accidents, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Multi, Original Character(s), Sheriff Stilinski Knows, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-02 01:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 72,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6545536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverTooOldToBeNerdy/pseuds/NeverTooOldToBeNerdy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The semi ubiquitous re-telling of the whole Alpha Pack/Darach thing. Although since I've already skewed thing so much it will depart something chronic from canon. People may still die, but I really don't know yet. I know I love Erica's character, but a story needs REASONS for actions, and there are two bloody good reasons in those two. We'll try ok?<br/>Stiles is continuing to find out who and what he is (if you haven't read the first part... well... good luck, but it might be safer to just whizz thru it)<br/>For those who pig-headedly refuse (I bet you're soooo much fun putting a bookshelf together with no directions reading) - here's the potted summary so far<br/>Stiles has powers. Derek and Stiles have acknowledged their UST and semi un U'd it. Claudia was (it turns out) a Dryad, possibly even the Godess of Youth and Life from Norse Mythology (Idunn) ans Stiles is both a human and a plant. He's already summoned fire, conjured water sprites, animated a forest and travelled through the earth to almost crash into the Nemeton. Oh, and it turns out his grandparent on Mom's side is Yggdrasil (The World Ash) and he may be a God or... something. Yeah, I know, crazy huh? Just think how I feel about it all!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fertile Ground

**Author's Note:**

> Wish me luck - I have no bloody idea where this is going. AT ALL. Usually I at least have a vague idea, but nope -the Plot Bunnies have me going off blind.  
> This chapter was meant to be longer, but I found myself at a great ending spot and my fingers refused to type any more (bastards)  
> Oh, fair warning - I am CRAP at both violence describing and even worse at smut, so expect to exercise your own imaginations for some of those bits.  
> This chapter sets up some stuff and gives some Sterek Snuggles

Stiles woke up feeling better than he had in... 

Well, that was sad; he couldn’t actually remember the last time he had felt this good. His injuries had finally faded completely. It turned out he hadn’t murdered seventeen people by feeding them to an angry forest. His dad was finally in the know about all things Wolfy and was still alive. He hadn’t set anything on fire or summoned anything or even turned anything into anything else for almost a whole day and night. OK, maybe he’d been asleep for at least half of that, but it still should count!

The best part of recent events was making its presence known right at this moment actually.

Stiles felt warm and protected beyond any level he could recall. The sheets he lay on had to be at least 1000 thread-count and Egyptian cotton no doubt. Lydia’s mother would never settle for anything less, not even for guests. Soft sunlight filtered through the curtains that he had forgotten to shut last night but Derek must have remembered.

Derek.

He was the reason Stiles felt so safe just now.   
Stiles could feel Derek’s gentle breathing, an indication that the man was still asleep. They were spooning. A week ago Stiles probably would have lost an organ, maybe his liver or at least a kidney, by laughing it out of his body had anyone said he and Derek would wake up in bed together, ever. Stiles just let his muscles relax as he lay there enjoying the heat and the feeling of the muscular body pressed against him. He had one arm thrown across his torso, pulling him closer. It was nice. As Stiles just revelled in the sensations flooding in from where his body contacted the werewolf’s, he felt rather than heard Derek’s breathing change slightly.  
Stiles smiled as Derek twitched and stretched a little, before relaxing back into his sleepy softness and burrowing back into Stiles’ chest.

“How did I become Big Spoon?” Stiles murmured into the soft hair behind Derek’s ear as he scented him.

Derek’s response was to bare his neck to Stiles and grumble contentedly. It was practically a purr.

“You make me feel safe” Derek rumbled, “Sleep better. Sorry”  
“Never feel sorry for letting me be the strong one” Stiles’ voice was like a caress “It makes me feel safe too”

Derek turned his head a little so Stiles could suck a mark into the soft skin of his throat. It wouldn’t last, of course, but it was a gesture of such trust and vulnerability from the usually so guarded wolf that Stiles, for a moment, felt shocked and humbled.   
He vowed to never let Derek be hurt again; at least not if Stiles could do anything humanly possible to prevent it... Maybe even ‘more than humanly’... ‘Non-humanly’...? Vegetatively...?

“You know what the weirdest thing is about this?” Stiles asked softly.

Derek just made a noise which could conceivably be interpreted as ‘go ahead’ or ‘tell me’ or possibly ‘I don’t care’.

“I realise that I have had my morning wood grinding into your butt for more than ten minutes and I haven’t even thought about freaking out or being embarrassed; not once!”

Derek’s response was to grind back on the ‘issue’ in question and rumble even more.

“No... not fair... are you... you are you bastard! You’re purring? Since when did you become a cat?”  
“Not cat, wolf. Sleepy wolf. Too tired to get upset. Cuddle now”  
“You’re not freaking out that I’m hard? Or that I’m not freaked out about it myself?”

Derek gently took Stiles’ hand, the one from the arm Stiles had been holding him close to his chest with, and moved it down about 2 feet.

“What? Oh! Ohhhh!”  
“Now we’re even, Sleep more”

Derek’s phone indicated a message received.  
“Let me guess, sleep no more?”

Derek grumbled in a far less pleasing way as he reached over and retrieved his phone from the bedside table. Stiles took a few seconds to appreciate both the view he got as the shirt Derek was wearing rode up with the stretch, as well as the way the parts of Derek’s body that were still touching his body rearranged themselves across and around him.

“Can we do this all the time?”  
“Ask your Father”  
“Meany”  
“You’re not the one likely to be put in jail for corrupting a minor”  
“I’m already pretty corrupted; we could probably argue a reduced sentence”  
“Damn!”  
“What’s wrong?”  
“Peter found something last night. It was scratched into the door of the old house with a claw.”  
He showed Stiles the strange, angular symbol.  
“What does it mean?”

Derek was silent.  
“Do not try to keep me out of things Sourwolf! I’m pretty sure if I wanted to I could throw you into the lake from here; or ask one of my leafy buds to do it! Hey! Leafy buds! Get it?”

Derek sighed deeply and muttered under his breath too low for Stiles to hear clearly.

“What was that? I know your ticklish spots and we’ve already covered the whole ‘having no morals’ thing; I will use my knowstuff for eebil! Mwahahahaha!”  
“I said ‘Why did I have to fall in love with an idiot’?”

Stiles was very still. Not just still for Stiles, but very, very still.

“What’s wrong?” Derek asked, turning over so he could look into Stiles’ eyes.  
“You said... No one has ever said that to me except Mom and Dad and... “  
“I love you a little differently than they do”

Stiles’ smile was almost more blinding than the tiny beams of sunlight trying to find their way through the gaps in the drapes.  
“I just don’t want to spoil the morning with bad news” Derek sighed.

“Please Derek, trust us to look after each other when we’re awake as well as when we’re sleeping. I can’t help you if I’m left out of things. Oh, and me too!”  
“What’s you too?”  
“I love you too you big Grumpy Cat”

It wasn’t until Stiles was already getting light headed from lack of air that he realised this was only his and Derek’s second kiss. It was a good kiss. It was much more sexy than their first, but not in any danger of being pornographic. It would probably make people uncomfortable to watch, but it wouldn’t offend them or make them need brain bleach. Well, except for Scott, but he was a hypocritical wuss anyway! Air was definitely becoming an issue. Stiles wondered if he could actually make oxygen like a real plant could. That would be useful for things, he thought. I could hide underwater for hours; pretend to be a statue like those guys in the mall that one time; go caving without worrying about bad air... wait, there’s no light in a cave, scratch that one... We’re still kissing... I don’t seem to need to breathe anymore, hmmm... What about Derek though? I don’t want to finally find the last specimen of the fabled Hunkosaurus Rex only to kill it with hot man loving before I can learn to ride it!  
Derek was looking into his eyes and seemed to be breathing. He must be getting his oxygen from somewhere? Stiles was... oh! Cool!

They broke the kiss.

“I learned a new trick!” Stiles grinned.  
“I noticed. Just when I was about to faint from lack of air, suddenly your breath was more than enough to survive on”  
“Pass out, not faint. We should totally enter one of those kissing competitions!”  
“I do not want to enter a competition”  
“Not even one where you have to kiss me?”  
“I don’t need to parade you around like a trophy Stiles”  
“What about me though? I really, really, seriously, really need to show you off at least a little. At school at least once, twice would be better, maybe the mall? If it really bothers you I’ll cancel the ads in the paper and take down the Facebook posts and the website.”

Derek could do eye rolling for the Olympics (if it was a sport)

“Just a little flaunting?”

Derek sighed.

“I keep my shirt ON this time, and no bending over to pick things off the ground”  
“Your blue wife-beater and those black jeans with the tears in them”  
“Those are claw marks from training”  
“They’re still hot”  
“Yes to the jeans, but I’ll get Lydia to choose a shirt. I don’t trust you”  
“You just said you did trust me! No takesie backsies!”  
“I trust you with my life and my heart, not with my public reputation”  
“Can we get her to consult with Danny? We can see which outfit makes him giggle and drool the most.”  
“Stiles!”  
“Anyway, speaking of shirts, this is one of my old shirts you are wearing, is it not?”  
“No”  
“I’m sure it’s mine”  
“You gave it away; mine now”  
“Who did I give it...?”  
“Miguel! He gave it to me”  
“Dorkwolf!”

Derek’s spontaneous grin was more precious to Stiles than any diamond he could ever imagine.

“OK, so let’s hear the details of what Peter found, and then we can go get freshened up and breakfasted”  
“You’re not going to like it...”  
“I’m tougher than I look”

Derek just stared at Stiles for several heartbeats with an entire universe of words behind his forest green eyes.

“What do you know about Alpha packs...?”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
The combination of Sherriff Stilinski’s ability to organise facts; Chris Argent’s knowledge of Hunter ‘incident records’; Derek’s memories of names he had heard his mother and sister discussing; Peter’s added knowledge via the phone; Danny’s skills with information retrieval and above all the frightening melding of Lydia and Stiles into almost a single mind to oversee everything meant that what Derek had, that morning, thought of as a huge and dangerous mystery was soon mostly explained. It was still incredibly dangerous, but no longer an unknown threat. The number of Alphas in the pack was either 4 or 5. Derek had met three of them (Kali, Ennis and their leader Deucalion) although there were conflicting reports about the final member(s).

Deaton tried to remain neutral and aloof, but the combination of Stiles’ persistence and his father’s perceptiveness meant the taciturn mask was cracked in less than an hour. With his additional information, scant though it was, Danny was able to find a handful of pictures taken from security footage.   
The final member of the Alpha Pack was young, very young, and seemed out of place next to the dangerous auras of the other three.

“Wait a second!” Stiles said as they were looking at some of the photographs Danny had projected onto the big screen TV in the living room. “Go back, that’s not the same guy!”  
“Yes it is Stiles!” Jackson grumbled.  
“No, he’s right” Danny said, “Look at the curve of his ass in those pants. You can see the line of his underwear.”  
“Really? You and Stiles noticed that?” Jackson snorted.  
“Yes, he’s cute” Danny glared “But in this shot, taken outside the gas station, he’s obviously going commando”  
“Not just commando, almost Navy Seal size from this angle!” Stiles quipped.  
“Twins?” Lydia asked.  
“Wait, that reminds me of something...” Chris said pensively.

“How do twins their age become Alphas?” Melissa asked, shivering, “Did they both kill someone?”  
“They had to, unless it was inherited” Derek said.  
“Remember those rumours Peter recalled from before the fire; these Alpha’s may have killed their own packs” Allison growled.  
“I think I might have something on those twins, from a couple of years ago” Chris gave up looking at his online database “It must be in my old files; the ones I haven’t transferred yet”  
“Well we’re supposed to get back to town sometime today” Melissa said practically, “We’ll find out then”

“How are we going on the packing?” Lydia asked.  
“Almost done!” Stiles said, “I just have to put these books back and I’m set!”  
“Are they my Grandma’s Herbals? She wouldn’t mind if you borrowed them. No one except me is ever likely to read them anyway”  
“Stiles, what language are these written in?” John was flicking through one of the books.  
“That one is in Greek, these two are in Latin and the blue one is in some sort of Arabic derivative I think?”  
“You can read Greek and Latin?” Deaton asked, obviously trying not to seem impressed.  
“My Latin is pretty good, although Lydia’s is better, and my Archaic Latin is pretty terrible according to her. Greek actually turned out to be easier than I thought, maybe Mom’s genes kicked in there? I taught myself enough to have a working knowledge of most things in a month or so.”  
“And the Arabic?”  
“Google Translate is your friend. It’s way harder than Greek, or even Latin though, so I’m going to have to work at it if I want to be fluent.” 

“When we get back, remind make sure you pop into the surgery Stiles. I might have a couple of books that you’d find helpful.”  
“I’m planning on harassing you until you agree to be my Yoda Doc! Or at least, I’m hoping that you’ll try to help me learn how to control this stuff.”  
Deaton gazed placidly at him. “We will do; there is no try.”

Stiles almost stopped himself from launching into his happy dance.

Several minutes later all the cars were loaded and Lydia had reset the alarms and had left a note (and a large tip) for the cleaners who would soon be out to make the Lake House pristine again.   
Allison and Chris headed off with Allison driving and Chris already deep in conversation with someone on his phone.   
Melissa and the Sherriff were driving Roscoe back and also taking Danny for an ‘unrecorded check-up and x-ray’ at the hospital on the way home.   
Jackson and Lydia were off on some mystery mission that even Danny was in the dark about and Derek had already loaded the trunk and the backseat of the Camaro with Stiles’ ever increasing mountains of stuff.   
The drive back was uneventful, apart from some hot and heavy hand-holding going on in the black sports car.

Derek pulled into the parking lot of the supermarket barely forty minutes after they left the Lake. Stiles got out and managed, only just, not to face plant as he stood up. Derek’s experience with keeping his face unreadable was all that stopped the man from giggling like a school child at the flailing and swearing. 

Derek grabbed a trolley as Stiles took out his phone and brought up the list he had composed during the drive.   
He sent a copy to Derek’s phone.   
They somehow fell into an almost choreographed dance as they spun their way around the market. Derek would keep circling back to Stiles with the trolley to relieve the younger boy of his chosen items. 

It was on one of these ‘return flights’ that Derek ran into the other trolley, knocking it out of the hands of the woman pushing it and into the shelves nearby.   
Several boxes of Frosties were so upset at this accident that they decided to hurl themselves to the floor.

“I’m so sorry” Derek said, slightly flustered, “Let me help you up”

The woman was sprawled as elegantly as someone who has to be described with the word ‘sprawled’ could be. She was pale and dark haired and quite pretty. Looking up at her combination Nemesis/Rescuer she drew a small breath and her gaze flicked up and down Derek’s form.

“I’m pretty sure it was mostly my fault” she smiled at him as he took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “I was looking around for the cooking oil and not watching where I was driving”

Derek smiled his ‘public’ smile at her and tried to shake off the strange fuzziness that he was suddenly feeling.

“I’m new to the area, so I still don’t know where things are”

Derek nodded absently as he felt his head pounding.   
He worried for a few seconds, but couldn’t smell any gun oil or Wolfsbane, nor the presence of another wolf.

“Oh, how rude of me!”the woman was saying “My name is...”  
His vision was going blurry and his hearing was phasing in and out.   
Suddenly all he could hear was Stiles’ heartbeat. It was loud, louder than he had ever heard it, and it was coming closer. He focused on the sound and the room stopped spinning around him. 

“Derek? Derek? Are you ok?”

Stiles was there. Stiles was safe. I am safe. Stiles was here with him and therefore he was safe.

“Stiles...”

The touch of Stiles’ strong, beautiful fingers on his arm made the room snap into focus again.   
He was fine.   
He wondered what had just happened.

“Uh... Hello!” the woman said...   
What was her name? Did she tell me...? 

“Are you a friend of... Derek’s?”  
She smiled in a friendly manner; Stiles did not.

“Boyfriend actually. Running late. Nice to meet you. Got to go!”  
“Derek” she smiled at him, “Who is your busy, young, friend?”  
“Call me Stiles!” 

Stiles was still glaring, and ignoring her outstretched hand.

 

“Hello Stiles” She smiled even more, “My name is Jennifer.”


	2. Every Silver Lining Has A Cloud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles gets told to focus as he tries to invent a "creepiness scale" for comparisons  
> Scott and Allison go all "Children of the Corn" after a nice lunch  
> Deaton explains, in detail, the deepest secrets of the Universe and the nature of reality itself  
> Derek gets tapped (and terribly embarrassed) while in public  
> Chris worries about Stiles' virtue after the same incident  
> A spell no one knew about is broken  
> Jackson has a lovely dinner with his folks and meets a very interesting lady

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, Bad news - there are LOTS of words (and talking)  
> Good News - it's DEATON WHO IS TALKING!!!  
> (cue wild applause and the band)  
> Oh, I know I got a couple of one-liners and nicknames from other fics I've read recently, but I can't for the life of me remember which ones they were. If you recognise your own line, or you know where it's from because you read that one too - please comment about it and give 9or take) the appropriate credit.   
> Actually, comment if you can anyway - esp if you have a theory where things might be going (because as I've said before, sometimes I just don't have the foggiest)

“I’m telling you she was uber-creepy, like, not quite Psycho-Peter levels of creepy but at least twice as creepy as your Grandad was when we first met him Ally; maybe a Matt-and-a-half...?”

“And you don’t know why you felt this?” Chris was frowning.  
“...maybe Kate plus a couple of angry librarians? Or possibly one of those cats that ask you to scratch their tummy but when you do they...”  
“Stiles! Focus!” Isaac’s voice was way deeper than normal.

Everyone stared at him.

“What? I thought it was my turn to do the focus thing?”  
“You imitated my Dad’s voice!”  
“Oh yay, it was good enough for you to recognise it at least!”  
“Stiles” Deaton sighed as he leaned against the steel examination bench, “Can you remember anything specific about her? What was she doing?”

“She was staring at Derek a lot.”  
“Stiles, everyone stares at Derek a lot” Allison sighed.  
“I don’t” Scott mumbled.  
“You don’t stare, you glare” Stiles pouted. “And it wasn’t the usual stare. I can cope with that. Before we got together I used to just agree with them, now I just bask in my tiny inner gloat.”  
“Don’t you mean inner glow?” Scott looked even more sour than usual.  
“I tapped that, I get to gloat”  
“What? Ew!” Scott was traumatised.

“Stiles! Tell me you haven’t...” Chris was frowning again.  
“Not like that!” Derek was blushing up a storm “He literally tapped me, on the ass, as we were lined up at the checkout. Then he insisted on putting his hand in my back pocket as we walked to the car.”  
“She was watching us; I felt she deserved a show”  
“I thought the store clerk would faint”  
“She did swallow her gum. I hope she’s ok, that stuff can stay in your digestive tract for...”

“Stiles!” 

Everyone stared at Allison this time. She smiled sweetly back at them.

“I’ll just say; yes, it is even better than it looks”

Scott was softly moaning as he hit the back of his head on the wall.

“And she kept using Derek’s name, and mine, it was weird”  
“Wait” Allison said “Was she wearing a black blazer jacket and a green skirt?”  
“Yes” Stiles nodded “With a black blouse under the blazer”  
“We ran into her after lunch!” Allison said “Scott and I were at the Diner on Fountain Street and she came in to get a sandwich.”  
“Oh, Ms Blake?” Scott nodded “She’s a new teacher at school. English I think?”  
“You talked to her too?” Deaton asked “Did you sense anything amiss?”  
“She was a nice lady and we had a great conversation” Scott smiled.  
“What did you talk about?” Stiles asked the pair.  
“We had a great conversation!” Allison said.

“And you didn’t sense anything wrong?” Deaton was frowning again.  
“No,” Allison frowned, “She was a nice lady.”  
“Scott, did you smell anything odd about her?”  
“No, we had a great conversation.”  
“What sort of perfume was she wearing?” Derek asked.

“You know Scott sucks at anything useful when it comes to being a wolf” Isaac snarked from where he was now perching on the table.

“I do not!”  
“Well then, what did she smell like?” Derek persisted.  
“She smelled nice.”  
“Describe it Scott! Floral? Musky? Natural sweat? Was she wearing natural fibres or synthetics? What did she have for breakfast? Does she smoke? Did she have a coffee this morning? How recently had she brushed her teeth?” 

Derek was just shaking his head at the boy.

“Allison, what observations did you make?” Chris asked his daughter.

“She was a nice lady”  
“And? Observations Ally! Remember your lessons.”  
“She was a nice lady and we had a great conversation.”

Everyone was staring at Allison and Scott with concern.  
“Ok” Deaton said, “I’m convinced there’s something wrong with her. You said she felt wrong Stiles?”

“I don’t see how she could be some sort of monster, she was a nice lady” Scott was frowning. "We had a great conversation,"  
“Like she was generating some sort of static field or white noise”

“Did the feeling decrease as you walked away from her, or was it more of an aura that just reached out to a certain distance? What exactly did the sensation feel like?” Deaton was on board at least.

“I can’t remember noticing anything wrong Dad” Allison was shaking her head like she had tinnitus, “We had a great conversation. She was a nice lady.”  
“Ally? Are you ok?” Chris looked worried as hell.

“It was like... actually, it reminded me a lot of the Nemeton”

“The what?” Scott looked blank.  
“The Nemeton Scott! You were there when they got me out of that tree, Remember Buzz?”  
“I remember the worm, and the tree, but what’s a Nemeton?”  
“A Nemeton is a focus for power found in areas where several ley-lines meet” Deaton was in teacher mode again “where did you hear the term Stiles?”

Stiles was staring at Deaton in confusion.

“What do you mean?” Derek asked, equally confused “You were there when we rescued Stiles”  
“I remember, “Deaton nodded slowly, “But what does that have to do with... with...”

The man’s face was stony as he began to tense his jaw and closed his eyes.

“Stiles. Could you describe what you saw when we rescued you from that tree?”

“There was a huge clearing. Nothing living in it, just dirt and a lot of leaf litter. The centre of the clearing was a huge-ass tree stump; we’re talking at least fifteen feet across. Grey, rotting, but no actual signs of rot now I think of it. No fungi or lichen or moss... hmmm, weird... The wood is greyish, not petrified but hard to imagine it was ever alive. Lots of rings visible; must have been extra old. It had an aura of... it was... oily...? It was the tactile equivalent of a blocked sewer. It just felt the way week old road kill smells. Like touching it would mean hours of scrubbing to ever get clean again....”  
“Keep going” Deaton was sweating now.  
“Uh....”  
“You told us about how you went there once as an apprentice, and it felt like Narnia to you.” Derek took over when Stiles ran dry “Then something happened before your next visit, and the tree got sick. You told us about Hunters poisoning it and chopping it down. You said that should have been impossible. When you entered the clearing you hissed...”

Deaton let out a huge shout and staggered across the room a few steps.   
He may have fallen to his knees if Scott hadn’t leapt across the room and caught him.

“Fucking BITCH!”

It was now Deaton’s turn to have everyone stare at him. Scott almost dropped the man.

“Doc?” Stiles was worried.  
“Wait one second Stiles”

Deaton moved to his ‘special shelf’ and gathered a few bottles. He made a mixture of several herbs and a few bits of fur and feathers in a stainless steel bowl while muttering under his breath. After a few moments he held the bowl out towards Stiles and Derek.

“Derek, I need a claw”

Derek extended one finger and a claw grew from the tip. Deaton used it to prick his index finger and carefully dropped three drops into the bowl.  
“Stiles, Derek, three drops from each of you please”

Derek stared for a second, but Stiles immediately pricked his finger on Derek’s claw and dropped his blood in.

“What?” He said in answer to Derek’s look, “He said the magic word.”

Derek slashed his finger right across and managed to get a few drops before it healed. Deaton was patting his pockets before turning to Chris Argent.

“Do you have a lighter on you? I need to burn this.” He indicated the mixture in the bowl.

Stiles snapped his fingers and a small ball of flame slowly flew from his hand and into the bowl.   
Seconds later smoke was rising from the burning contents, which Deaton proceeded to waft into the faces of those present in the room.   
Derek, Scott and Isaac coughed several times, and everyone blinked in confusion as the smoke wisped around their heads.

“I remember” Allison was shaking. “I remember... she asked us about... Dad! We... Scott and I told her everything. We followed her out of the Diner and when no one could overhear us we told her everything about the Hales.”  
“Just the Hales?” Deaton asked.  
“She asked about Derek, and Peter. We told her about Kate. She asked about the pack and we told her about Scott being bitten, and... and Erica and Boyd being missing”  
“I told her about Jackson and Isaac too” Scott was pale “And she asked about Stiles, was he a wolf too?”  
“What did you tell her?”  
“I said he wasn’t a wolf, then a couple of cars pulled up and next thing we were saying goodbye like we’d just been chatting”

Deaton was grim.

“Stiles, what time will your father be home tonight?”  
“He’s doing the swing tonight, so... about midnight?”  
“I’m going to use some of this ash to make some talismans; when I’m done I’ll drop one off to your father. Scott, your mother is off until tomorrow morning I think?”

At the boy’s nod he continued.  
“Could you take another talisman to her when I’m done and get her to Stiles’ house by midnight? Derek, contact Peter and get him to meet there as well. Allison, contact Lydia and get her, Jackson and Danny there; don’t take any excuses.”  
“Do you think she’s something to do with the Alpha pack?” Chris asked sombrely.  
“I only hope so” Deaton sighed, “Because if she isn’t then we are in more trouble than we thought”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
“Before we talk about Jennifer ‘I am evil, hear me plot’ Blake I want to know if anyone has made progress on finding Catwoman and Boyd?”

“Isaac and I have been patrolling the borders of the territory and haven’t found a trace of them.”

Peter actually seemed sad about that which meant either his personality or his acting ability had improved markedly.

“Derek has been investigating some of the more remote parts of the preserve, no sign yet” Stiles noted.  
“I’ve had a couple of friends I can trust discreetly enquiring about two runaway wolves." Chris reported "No one has heard anything, which I feel means they haven’t run away on their own.”  
“I suspect the Alphas have them” Derek sighed “They must have run after escaping from Gerard. The Alphas must have been in the area for weeks, reconnoitring. They’ve taken them either because they think they are no longer part of my pack, or because they think they still are.”  
“What’s the difference?” Scott asked.  
“If they’re still alive, then they think they’re still pack” Stiles snapped “And they’re still alive!”

“I can still feel the pack bond, although it’s weak” Derek rumbled sadly.  
“I’ve been reading that book on scrying you lent me Doc...” Stiles began.   
“I lent it to you?” Deaton’s face was bland.

“Showed to me, whatever” Stiles waved his hand “Then you left it on the table. Let’s all move on. I’ve tried a few things and the crystal pendant thingummy stuck to a map of the city, but I couldn’t get any closer than somewhere on the North side.”  
“They might have a witch or a druid of their own” Deaton mused.  
“What’s the...” Scott paused and looked worriedly at his friend.  
“No, that’s a good question Scott” Stiles smiled at him, “I would love to know too!”  
“Is it relevant?”John asked.  
“It might be” Peter said firmly, “If we notice something that tells us what sort of magic the Alpha Pack has at their disposal, it will give us a little more of a chance to hold them off till we find out what they want.”

“They want Derek” Stiles’ voice was chillingly cold. “They have a pattern.”  
“How do you know?” Danny asked from where he and Lydia were sitting on the sofa.  
“Stiles came over this afternoon and helped me search my files for information” Chris Argent nodded at the boy.  
“I thought you were with Derek all day?” John said.  
“I was helping Allison train out in the yard while Stiles let his inner nerd out inside.  
“I never realised you were fluent in French Stiles! I’ll have to watch my tongue from now on around you when I swear!” Allison was grinning at the boy.  
“Since when do you speak French?” Lydia asked.   
“After the Hunters at the Lake House, I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. There were a couple of ‘Teach Yourself French’ books on your Grandma’s shelf so...”  
“In a night?” Chris was almost shocked.  
“I’ve always been pretty good at languages” Stiles shrugged “It’s not so different from Spanish really; the Latin really helps too!”

Chris just shook his head.

“There are many differences between various traditions of...” Deaton began.

“Cliff’s Notes version please Doc; try going to the point where you think it’s just too simplified to be of any use and all then take a step back” 

Deaton sighed at Stiles and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was plain that he was in the first stages of developing what Melissa had named ‘The Stilesgraine’.  
She’d seen many adults fall victim to it over the years (especially her useless ex-husband).

“OK then...” Deaton sighed, “One of the slightly more accurate theories divides magic into four major types: Earth or Elemental Magic; Spirit or Life Magic; Hermetic or Mathematical Magic and Planar or Outsider Magic...”

Danny, Lydia and Stiles were all taking notes; Derek shook his head and turned to make a comment to Peter, only to see that the older wolf also had his laptop open and was typing away.

“Each broad division is categorised by the ‘source’ of the energy which activates the magic; although really, all magic is basically the same energy. The division is then divided further into categories of practitioner based on ‘how’ they activate or access their magic. All practitioners need to possess the basic ‘spark’; that is what makes them able to sense and manipulate the energies we call ‘magic’. Most humans and other living creatures have a small amount of the energy in them, but only a few have enough to sense it or develop it.”

“What about wolves and all that?” Stiles asked “Other supernatural creatures”

“A usable spark is almost unheard of in the Lycanthrope community. Some theorise that the Spark of power becomes subsumed into the Wolf”

“Let the man talk Stiles” John sighed.

“Each type of magic has its strengths and weaknesses; similarly each practitioner has things they find easy to do and others they find hard”

“What are you?” Stiles bit his lip and mouthed ‘sorry’ to Deaton at his father’s glare.

“I am a Druid. Druids and Witches are the practitioners who most commonly utilise Earth Magic. We use the power inherent in objects and creatures of nature or found in the traditional elements of ancient myth. Many plants have magical power just from their own nature. Moonlight, sunlight, running water, the fur or blood of certain animals – all of these can be tapped for power. Druids take these ingredients and manipulate them to achieve a desired effect. We take the ash made from the wood of the Rowan or Mountain Ash and make protective circles from it; we crush the leaves and petals of the All-bright to use the power in them to enhance our vision. Witches do the same thing, but in the opposite direction – they take bark from a willow tree and infuse it with their own power to bring out it’s pain relieving properties, they take the same Rowan ash that a druid would use, mix it with other protective herbs and make a fetish to ward off danger. Same power, different applications.”

“Can you use spells and stuff from the other traditions?” Stiles wondered.

“Oh yes! Most magicals use or have knowledge of several traditions, or even access different power sources, but we all find one particular tradition and power type to be the one we are most skilled and most comfortable in.”

Stiles nodded.

“Most practitioners come from the Earth Magic traditions. Spirit Magic would be the next most common; made up of Shamans, Voodun, Spirit-Walkers and Necromancers. Wizards and Mages use the alchemical and mathematical relationship between objects and rituals to create either magical artefacts or effects. Warlocks and Sorcerers are the two most common users of power sources from outside our reality. They are either servants of powerful alien beings or have learned to tap into the sources those beings use. They are quite rare, and very dangerous. I think we can discount one of those helping the Alpha Pack. If a Sorcerer or Warlock of that power were in town Stephen Strange would be calling on us already.”

There was a knock on the door.   
Stiles’ flail was so impressive that Melissa worried for a few seconds that he might have actually dislocated something.   
Derek and the other wolves just rolled their eyes.

“It’s Jackson” Derek growled, picking Stiles up off the floor and pulling him onto his lap. 

“Where has Jackass been anyway? Stiles asked, snuggling into Derek’s side.  
“I told you, his parents had some big dinner thing on tonight” Lydia drawled, “I made him promise to wear his talisman, just in case”  
“Just as well you did” Jackson said “I’m not sure what it was meant to do but I think it worked”  
“She was at the Country Club?” Lydia was worried.  
“I don’t think it was her” Jackson drawled “unless she’s become biracial in the last few hours”  
“What?” Stiles exclaimed.

“She was sitting at the table with Ms Morrell, the French teacher from school, she smelled funny, but I couldn’t get close enough to really tell. I tried to get closer when she headed to the bathroom, but Ms Morrell started talking to me and just as I made my excuses to follow the woman she tossed something in my face and told me to sit down and forget I had seen either of them there. I did what she said so she wouldn’t know it hadn’t worked.”  
“Who threw stuff at you? The woman?” Scott asked.  
“No, Ms Morrell”

Deaton closed his eyes and shook his head sadly.

“What’s up Doc?” Stiles grinned like a loon.

“Stiles! Focus!” several voices rang out in perfect unison.

“Marin is interfering for some reason. I’d ask her but she never tells me anything”  
“Marin? You know her?” Lydia asked.  
“She’s my sister. She is also a Druid, but in many ways, her practice is closer to that of a traditional Witch.”  
“Jax, was this the woman eating with her?” Danny asked as he held up his laptop with a blurry picture from a security camera.

“Danny, did you just hack the Country Club’s security system and upload pictures from their cameras?”

“Of course not Sherriff; that would be illegal.”

“I think that’s her.”

Derek and Peter looked carefully at the picture.

“Kali.” Derek growled while Peter nodded behind him.  
“Your sister is helping the Alphas?” Stiles exclaimed.  
“I’m afraid she is” Deaton sighed, “And that alone is frightening”  
“Why?” Isaac asked “Is she powerful?”  
“She is very powerful, and her magic is much more offensive than mine. But it is her reason for helping them that concerns me.”  
“Oh?” Stiles wondered.

“Marin and I are both dedicated to Balance; making sure that all magic, all things are left to find their natural level. If she is with the Alpha Pack, then she is doing so to balance the forces involved in these events”  
“Balanced against us?” Allison was worried.  
“If Stiles had been revealed several months ago then I’d say she was worried about him, but his power is too new for her to know about yet. I suspect that whoever or whatever this Jennifer Blake is may be the reason she is taking a side.”  
“And that’s bad because...?” Stiles was already sure he knew the answer.  
“Because if a powerful Witch sides with five Alpha werewolves to help balance things, the force they oppose must be formidable indeed.”

Stiles sighed.  
“And I thought school going back was the biggest dark cloud around my silver lining.”


	3. The Slings And Arrows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles learns new tricks  
> Deaton is mean  
> Chris is meaner  
> Peter gets upset  
> Isaac is loved (but he needs it)  
> Stiles talks about sex  
> Derek is very, very wise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of violence on screen, lots of violence off screen (and aftermath)  
> Deaton in this fic has been worked over by everyone one after the other so he's being waaay out of character from canon  
> Stiles just won't take things step by step (also, he's a bit of a klepto, seriously)  
> I've lost track of timelines compared to canon by now so I'm just making it up. In my mind, school is about to go back (cue epic Dark Oak vs Bright Ash SMACKDOWN! ... ewwww, nasty) (well, for one of them) ;P

Stiles was pretty sure he was about to die.

His head was pounding; his breathing was irregular and he could barely gulp enough oxygen to keep himself conscious; every joint was aching and his eyes felt like someone had rubbed a litter box in them (complete with live cat).

“Excellent, let’s add another”

Deaton didn’t look like he was enjoying this torture session, but then again, he was a master of the blank look. Stiles was sure the Druid/Vet/EnigmaticBastard had turned to the dark side. Stiles felt sad that he and Derek would never get to have kids. Could he and Derek have kids? I mean, adoption was always an option of course, but Stiles had dreams of little girls with green eyes and sentient eyebrows of doom running around clawing the furniture. Surrogacy? That would work, provided Stiles could find a surrogate who wouldn’t fall in love with Derek. Maybe someone blind? No, his voice was as sexy as his abs. What is Helen Keller doing these days? No! Bad Stiles! What about me? Do I want to propagate my genes? Can I do that? Can magic make me carry Derek’s babies? Or maybe he could carry mine? What if I can’t have kids? What if I have to grow seedpods or something? Or maybe runners like a strawberry plant? No, don’t be dumb Stiles. Mom had me the human way, so it must be possible. But I’m a dude so... not possible again. Unless magic can do that? Hmmm, wonder if Deaton would know? Deaton... Deaton... I had to remember something about Deaton...

Stiles focused on the clearing again just as Deaton threw a razor sharp dagger at him.  
Oh, yeah, the whole trying to kill me thing.

“Stiles! Focus!” 

Chris Argent’s voice snapped his attention back to the cloud of stones, arrows and knives currently whirling around him. Stiles had soon learned that focussing too much on any one object was a recipe for painful cutty or stabby disaster. Instead he had to keep at least part of his mind on maintaining the whirlwind that he was keeping all the weaponry up with and just a little on each object to make sure his winds knew what to touch and what to avoid.  
In the five days since Deaton began Stiles’ training in earnest he had been pummelled, stabbed, burned, shocked with cattle-prods, poisoned and blown up (twice!)

Alright, maybe the poisoning was his own fault, but who keeps a syringe full of barbiturate based horse tranquilizer on a high shelf next to a whole row of really interesting looking old books? Derek, and even Deaton had looked like they were about to panic until Stiles’ body had begun to shake and the blood dripping from the site of the needle-stick injury had begun to change colour and thicken. The flashes of gold and green had reminded Stiles of Derek’s eyes actually.   
He had felt absolutely dreadful for several minutes and then had begun coughing so hard he was pretty sure he was about to break a rib. After several minutes of horrible phlegmy hacking he had coughed up a small pellet of what Deaton had later tested to be a chemical that must have resulted from his body altering the drug that had been poisoning him. Deaton had speculated that his body had somehow instinctively known that the chemicals would harm his kidneys if it passed through them and so had opted for another method of expelling them from his body.

Derek’s comment ‘at least his body is marginally intelligent’ had not been appreciated.   
(but the intense comfort/cuddling session later that night had been)

Earth had turned out to be pathetically easy to manipulate, as well as water and fire. Stiles speculated that since his accidental magic had revolved around those elements it was only to be expected. Air, however, had proved annoyingly stubborn until finally Stiles had blown up (literally) during a particularly frustrating session with Chris, Allison and the wolves attacking him from all sides and the resultant tornado had left all of them dangling from nearby trees,

Stiles, it seemed, was a prodigy with Nature magics and could replicate most Druid and even most Witch spells after only a couple of attempts. 

Deaton said that his, albeit, limited success with the scrying for Erica and Boyd indicated that he had at least a little talent with Spirit magic and he was contacting a couple of friends to see if they would offer their services as tutors for the young boy. Since Deaton had no personal contacts within the small Wizard community he had his other contacts looking for someone trustworthy to test Stiles for any abilities he might have in that form of power.

Deaton’s response when Stiles expressed curiosity about Sorcery was a resounding negative. 

“It’s just too risky Stiles. The beings who use or command those powers are dangerous in the extreme. Even the most benign of them are capricious and they don’t always understand the consequences of their actions. All those legends of the dangerous Fae Lords? They aren’t just fairytales Stiles! You could spend a night dancing at one of their parties and come back to us twenty years later or wind up turned into a dog and used in their hunts for a century. And that’s the friendliest of these entities; there are creatures that were called Gods some of whom presided over millions of human sacrifices; some are known as demons or devils. How do you think they got those titles Stiles?”

Deaton had gotten really mouthy since he seemed to have decided to start actually helping them instead of being the Wise Old Owl.   
It had been Derek’s soft whine at the thought of Stiles being hurt that had convinced the boy to leave well enough alone (for now anyway)

Stiles snapped back into focus as Chris threw another object into the dozen or so already surrounding him.   
It was a few seconds before Stiles realized what the object was, since he got distracted by Chris’ rapid retreat after he threw the... GRENADE?

It was probably a blank again, like the one the other day. Just enough charge to make a noise and no real risk of injury unless you’re actually holding it but... Chris was running really fast, and Deaton had already slipped back about 15 feet...

Stiles couldn’t think of what to do, which spell to use, so he did what seemed to have worked so far and stopped thinking entirely.

With a slightly panicked, but incredibly manly and almost military, yelp... scream... shout... battle-cry...! he hurled his hands into the air at the same moment he closed his eyes and thought really, REALLY hard about what he wanted to happen.

The winds that had been keeping the weapons used against him as part of a growing shield transformed into a tornado and everything whirled together into a ball and hurled itself more than a hundred feet into the air. The dust from the wind turned the column of air into a solid seeming pillar. It also obscured what happened next... well... at least part of what happened next.

The explosion high in the air revealed that it had indeed been a real grenade. Thanks Chris!  
The objects caught in the explosion were shattered into pieces of dangerous shrapnel, but nothing escaped the column of the tornado, instead the metal and wood was hurled straight up another fifty feet in a few seconds.   
After a moment, the wind began to fade, and the vicious shards fell straight down onto the circle of earth Stile’s footsteps had left in the soil of the clearing.  
Stiles was no longer there.

Seconds later the running form of Chris Argent fell on his face about twenty feet from where he had started, his breath grunting from him as he hit the dirt and only highly honed reflexes saving his nose from a sudden grounding. Allison, safe in her tree, was shocked for a few seconds, since her Dad almost never tripped even when... oh...

The slender, muscular hand around Chris’s calf disappeared into the slightly soiled plaid shirtsleeve which covered an equally slender yet muscular arm. As they watched Stiles let go of the ankle as his body seemed to just rise from the earth as if on a hidden elevator, the soil and stones moving aside like they were breakfast cereal and Stiles was the bonus toy at the bottom of the box.

“Can we take a break, please?” Stiles asked, already wobbling where he stood.  
“Enough for today; I think you should go get a shower Stiles, and we can debrief in about half an hour at your house.” Chris suggested and Deaton nodded.  
“But we’re nearly 20 minutes walk from home!” Stiles waved accusingly at the trees of the Preserve. “That doesn’t give me long for a shower!”  
“You might have more time for your shower if you ran home.” Chris smiled at him.  
Stiles glared. Suddenly he seemed to brighten, as if hearing something pleasant, or having a brainwave and then smirked at the man.  
“Ok then! Race you!”

He ran in the direction of his home, seeming not to see the large tree he was heading straight for.

“Stiles! Look out!” Allison cried out as Chris winced and Deaton... Deaton just watched.

Stiles ran into the tree.   
The others stood staring at where his body should have been lying bloodied on the ground. Instead there was no sign of the boy.   
Even the bark of the tree was unblemished where his body seemed to have passed... passed... straight through...

“I hate it when he improvises” Chris sighed.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Strong hands were massaging the knots out of his shoulders and he was warm and sleepy. His belly was not quite too full of sandwiches and apple juice and he was wearing one of his favourite shirts.  
OK, technically he was wearing Derek’s shirt, but the material was soft and silky and Derek didn’t seem to object; plus, it being just slightly too big for him meant that Derek could easily push the collar over to get at the stubborn parts of his back and neck.

Derek had really good hands.

Stiles may have moaned, just a little.  
Chris Argent was glaring at him again; not cool man.

“Stiles, were you listening to anything I just said?” He asked, glaring a bit more.  
“Were you still talking about me being irresponsible with my own health by attempting magical feats without building up to them?”  
“No, I was outlining the good and bad things you did during the defence test.”  
“Oh, ok, well then I wasn’t listening.”

Deaton and Chris both made the ‘Stilesgraine’ gesture of pinching the bridge of their nose.  
Allison managed to stile 87% of her snort.  
Sherriff Stilinski just sighed deeply and raised his eyebrows at Derek.  
Derek sighed too.

“Stiles, you need to focus on these things. It’s too dangerous for you to just rely on luck and ‘winging it’. You’re going to get seriously hurt one day.”

Derek’s voice and the rumbly feel of it against Stiles’ back were very pleasant indeed, even if the words were dull and predictable.

“I’ve already been hurt; and winging it has kept me alive so far. And for your information, I always have a plan; it’s just sometimes I don’t remember it until after I’ve started executing it. Plans are like donuts anyway; they’re best freshly made and you usually regret them a little afterwards.”  
“The scariest part is that I actually think he might be telling the truth” Chris shuddered a little.

Derek’s fingers found another knot in Stiles’ back and he shuddered and moaned a little louder as it was massaged into submission.

“And you’re not concerned about this, are you?” Chris was asking the Sherriff.  
“Stiles may be legally below the age of consent, but he is mature enough to make his own decisions” John sighed.  
“Besides” Stiles added “I’d be legal if we drove to Nevada or Washington. It’s a stupid rule anyway”  
“It’s designed to stop older people pressuring young or vulnerable kids into something they’ll regret” Chris sounded tired.

“Which is why we aren’t doing anything yet” Stiles glared. “We don’t need it to be close or to tell each other how much we love each other and I’m never going to hurt Derek like that.”  
“I think you are the one they are worried about Stiles” Derek said softly, “You’re the one who is underage”

“I’m not the one who is in danger here; I’m not the one who needs to be protected; I’m not the one who was traumatised by someone who took advantage of them. I’m old Chris. I know I’ve only been alive for a few years but I’m not a young, naive kid. I haven’t been young for years. I know my own mind, and my own life. And I know that sex with this guy is going to be wonderful and probably one of the best things I ever experience. But even if I were ready for that step, which I almost am, he isn’t. He has never and would never pressure me for anything like that. Quite the opposite actually! Do you have any idea what she...? No... That’s private... It’s just... Derek needs to be treated with a bit more respect by certain people around here; and not necessarily just in this room either. I’m not some barely pubescent booty call for the horny wolfman to fill up and throw away. We talk, we cuddle, we have saved each other’s lives more times than either of us can remember. We’re a team. Sex is just part of what a relationship entails, and we’re going to do it, but not until we’re both ready. I’ve seen too many relationships at school and among my friends burn bright and fizzle out because they jumped straight into playing with body parts and forgot to be friends first. I’m very grateful that you care. Really grateful, but please, butt out.”

Chris saw how passionate Stiles was, and how terribly young and vulnerable the man holding him seemed at that exact moment. Something inside him shifted a little.

“I reserve the right to tease you” Chris said “And also to never, ever be told any details”  
“Thank you Chris” Stiles said solemnly “In return I promise to never have sex in your house, at least not while you’re home”

Allison had to snort at that one.

The door burst open and Peter and Jackson came running in. Jackson was carrying Isaac in his arms; the young wolf was badly hurt. There were several claw marks on his face and chest, and one particularly nasty one on his back that still bled. Jackson looked freaked out and Peter’s eyes were glowing brightly enough to read by. The older wolf looked incensed by the harm done to his packmate.

Derek leapt to his feet, preventing Stiles from hitting the floor by the expediency of simply picking him up as he stood.   
Stiles patted Derek’s arm a few times murmuring ‘down please’, not unlike a toddler would.   
Derek carefully allowed him to stand on his own and they both hurried to where Peter was laying Isaac onto the dining room table.

Deaton, who rarely hurried, did not do so now, but he was far from his usual meander as he grabbed his black bag and moved to the table.

“Sherriff, could you turn the lights on please, I’ll need all the illumination I can get in here”

The lights were switched on, but it was pretty apparent that they weren’t enough.

“I have torches in the car...” Chris began.

Stiles closed his eyes and began to mutter something. A few seconds later a small ball of golden light flickered into existence above Isaac’s injured form. Then another joined it; and another, and another. Within about ten seconds there were several orbs of varying sizes whizzing around in some complicated pattern above the action. The glow from each was not enough to impair vision, but below their orbits it was like the sun had come from behind a cloud.

“Stiles? Where did you...?”  
“That book on Wizardry and the motions of the planets that you lent me”  
“Lent you?”  
“It was just lying there, you didn’t tell me not to take it!”  
“Where was it lying Stiles?”  
“In a locked box at the bottom of the supply closet I was helping Isaac clean while you were teaching Scott how to irrigate waxy build-up in cats' ears the other day”

Deaton looked warily at the tiny globes and then shook his head again.

“These wounds are healing very slowly. Has he been exposed to Wolfsbane or an electric current since they were made?”  
“No” Peter snarled “They were made by one of the Alphas.”

Jackson was whining slightly and trying to draw Isaac’s pain from him.

“Wait a moment Mr Whittmore” Deaton asked politely “I’ll need Isaac to be able to feel everything just for a few moments longer, so I can make sure I’ve noted all his injuries”  
“What happened?” Allison asked.  
“The three of us were making a cursory patrol of the area Stiles said might be where Erica and Boyd are being hidden” Peter said, visibly trying to calm himself “Lydia and Danny worked out a pattern that allowed us to cover a fair bit of ground without drawing too much attention to ourselves. It wasn’t as thorough as a full grid-search, but if we got lucky we might have spotted something to narrow things down even more; let’s face it, we didn’t have anything better to do”  
“But it isn’t safe for you to separate like that” Derek growled.  
“We were never more than a block from each other, well within hearing if we shouted for help!”

“Go on” Chris said sharply.  
“Isaac cried out; when Jackson and I got around the corner he was like this, but alone. The strange thing, he was lying inside a circle of mountain ash. As we ran up the ash just moved and broke the barrier. We knew you’d all be here so we just threw him in Jackson’s car and drove here”

“What are these marks on his neck?” Stiles asked, noting several small bleeding points along one side of his spine.  
“He saw something” Peter swore, “One of the Alphas must be skilled in memory alteration.”  
“What?” Stiles’ eyes were huge.

Deaton and Peter hurriedly explained what they knew of the art as Deaton stitched a couple of the more dangerous wounds closed, signalling to Jackson and Derek to take as much pain as they could from the semi-conscious boy.

“When he is healed a bit more, we can try to restore his memories” Deaton said as he carefully disinfected the last wound. “I doubt they had long enough to actually erase anything. They probably just broke the connections between whatever Isaac saw and his conscious memory.”

Lydia and Danny came bursting in the door.  
“Peter! Where were you each patrolling just before Isaac was attacked?” Stiles said as he mimed opening a laptop at Danny and directed a couple of his sun-globes closer so that Deaton could do fine work.

Deaton finished his work and thanked Stiles for his ‘excellent use of highly dangerous Magery’. 

Stiles grinned like a fool and then bit his lip in concentration.   
Instead of just winking out the way they winked in, each tiny sun seemed to glow less brightly, and its colour changed to a more soothing blue/green.   
One by one the tiny balls of light drifted down and gently touched the now sleeping Isaac; seeming to be absorbed into his skin.   
By the time the last light had faded into his flesh, several of the more serious wounds looked to have finally begun healing.   
Deaton sighed again and fished into his bag for a large bar of chocolate. He handed it to Stiles and told the wavering boy to sit down before he fell down.

Derek seemed torn between Isaac and Stiles, and then made a decision. He directed Stiles to the couch instead of their usual chair and, carrying Isaac as gently as he could, laid the injured lad across both their laps. Stiles began carding his long fingers through the youth’s curls while Derek siphoned a little more pain from him.

Peter seemed torn too, until Derek indicated the cushion next to him and lifted Isaac’s feet so that Peter could sit there too. Jackson and Danny sat on the floor, just leaning in occasionally to touch Isaac’s hands while Allison squeezed onto the arm beside Peter and removed the boy’s shoes and socks so she could massage his feet. 

“It’s so refreshing to see a male who understands the importance of a good pedicure!” Lydia smiled as she ran her eyes over Isaac’s immaculate toes before perching on the arm of the sofa beside Stiles and delicately brushing a stray curl out of his eyes.

Chris was a little taken aback when Peter’s arm came up around Allison’s waist, but he relaxed when he realised that the older wolf was simply helping her keep her balance on the narrow arm.   
Stiles was in a panic over whether he should mirror the gesture until Lydia solved things by just grabbing his arm and wrapping it around her.

They are a pack at last, Chris thought, and my daughter is one of them.

He was both nervous about that, and relieved that Allison seemed to have finally found a group of friends who appreciated and valued her as much as her father did.

“How long will it be until we can try to fix Isaac’s memories?” Allison asked softly, not wanting to wake him.  
“We might not need to” Stiles’ smile was positively feral “They attacked him to stop him from reporting to us, but the fact they wanted to hide something means...”  
“...It means there must be something there to hide!” Danny’s grin wasn’t much more reassuring.

“So Peter, “Stiles’ eyes glittered with malice “Where exactly are we going to start tightening the noose around these dead wolves walking”  
“We don’t know if they’re that much of a threat yet, surely” John queried.  
“They attacked my pup” Stiles hissed, “They made him bleed. They have Erica and Boyd. That’s enough for me. I won’t kill them out of hand, but if I’m not impressed by their apologies then my angry face is the last one they're ever going to see.”

“Sometimes I wonder who the Alpha of this pack really is.” Chris whispered to John as quietly as he could.

Derek still heard him and mouthed something to them, silently, a fond smile on his face.  
“So do I.”


	4. Suspicious Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles is NOT arrested  
> Derek is NOT always grumpy  
> Things are NOT standing still 'off screen'  
> Heather has NOT had a happy birthday  
> School is NOT the same place it was  
> Stiles is NOT the same lonely, loser geek he was  
> Oh! and Harris is NOT a nice person

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, this was weird. I had it all ready in my head, what should be next, what bits of canon I needed to either change or cover, but how to do it without rehashing things everybody had seen or read THOUSANDS of times? Then... this.   
> Weird I tells ya!  
> I have noticed that sometimes if I'm a bit scared of my ability to handle an important but not very exciting plot point I will report it in hindsight or as 'oh that happened last thrusday'  
> I was expecting it to at least get me to the end of the first day of school, but ... sigh...  
> I guess the Plot Bunnies have that treat waiting for me in my head somewhere  
> As always - review/comment/speculate/share recipes/kudos etc as is your wont

“I was going to go with my buddy Scott, but we’re on the outs a little at the moment, so I decided I’d just go by myself, hang for a little while, give Heather my present and go home early.”

Deputy Benton made note of that on his note pad and checked that both the audio and video recorders were still running.   
He made a purely mental note at the soft sigh Melissa McCall had made as she sat beside Stiles on the other side of the table.

“What are you and your buddy fighting about?”

Stiles frowned a little and then sighed himself.

“I was kind of hoping you weren’t going to ask that, since it can’t be in any way relevant; but don’t sweat it, I understand you have to be thorough.”

Sam Benton hated interviewing other cops or the family of cops for this exact reason.

“Scott and I have been arguing about how we’ve each been handling some of the issues we’ve faced over the last few months. You’re undoubtedly aware of the killings we had recently. The mountain lion attacks plus those murders and all. One of our friend’s Dad was killed actually. I expressed a view that Isaac was better off without him; you know about the abuse he inflicted don’t you?”

Sam nodded, and then spoke for the tape.  
“I read the reports, yes”

“Well I said that if the lion or dogs or whatever it was that killed Isaac’s dad did him a favour. Scott didn’t agree and decided that my attitude meant I wasn’t a good person. It was a dumb argument, and it just escalated into a whole thing about the right to defend yourself. I said that I would be willing to kill to defend myself or another, and Scott said ‘no, there’s always a choice’. He’s never had to face real danger though, so I told him that I didn’t want to hang out until he’s at least willing to admit that there’s another side to the argument. I don’t even need him to agree with me, I just want him to at least acknowledge that my point of view is as valid as his.”

“You make it sound like you have faced that sort of situation in real life Stiles”

“You said you read the reports. You know I have. Whoever kidnapped Peter Hale and his nurse took me too. I woke up in the trunk of a car with a dead body under me. If I hadn’t remembered that TV story on escape handles in some European cars I’d probably have died before they found me. Plus there was the whole thing with Matt Daehler holding a gun to my head.”

Stiles was carefully weaving the truth with as little falsehood as he could.

“That makes you think. So I had time to wonder what I would have done if I had been able to defend myself. How far would I have gone? I’ve even talked about it with Peter Hale since he was found and started healing. Asked him what he might have done. Scott has never even tried to think those things”

Sam Benton could see this line was fruitless, but he felt he’d done enough on it to avoid any complaints from higher up.

“Anyway, back to the party. How did you get there?”  
“Peter drove me actually.”  
“Why would he do that?”  
“His nephew asked him to.”  
“Nephew? That would be Derek Hale, yes?”  
“Yeah, we’re dating, and before you start, yes I know he’s older than me, and it isn’t an issue.”

Sam Benton had only been in Beacon Hills for a couple of days and had already heard this particularly juicy piece of gossip from one of the coffee shop owners nearby.

“What happened when you arrived?”

“Well... Heather and her buddy Caitlin were answering the door; She kissed me as I walked in which was a little bit of a shock, I mean, we’re old pals but we’ve never been... you know... Anyway, I gave her my present, a new leather-bound journal; she uses them up like other people use Kleenex. She wanted to talk to me privately and her mom had asked her to grab a bottle of wine from the cellar so I went down with her so we could chat. She... ok, this bit is embarrassing for both of us, but if it helps find her I’m willing to both suffer and inflict a little shame. When we were about 13 or so we’d made a pact that if we we’re still virgins when we turned 17 we’d ‘help each other out’. It was Heather’s 17th, and she said she was starting to get sick of it hanging over her head, and then she kissed me again.”

“What did you do then?”

“I had to explain to her that although I was flattered, I couldn’t really go through with our pact because it would mean cheating on my boyfriend. She was a little embarrassed and upset I think, but she also said she wanted details later, so we were still good.”

“What happened after you told her no?”

“She was really embarrassed so I thought I should go find Caitlin and ask her to keep an eye on her. I went upstairs and asked around, but no one had seen her for a while. I went back down to see if Heather was ok but she was gone by then. I couldn’t find her upstairs anywhere and after about twenty minutes of looking I decided it would be better if I went home so she wouldn’t have to face me in a room full of people. I was worried she might have been more upset than I had thought.”

The Deputy made more notes.

“I rang Peter, but he didn’t pick up. Then Heather’s dad said he was heading off to his lodge meeting and he gave me a lift home since it’s on the way.”

“When did you find out Heather was missing?”

“The next morning when Dad was called in. He rang me from the station and asked if I had seem her that night and I told him I had, but he didn’t want me to tell him any more because of the first missing girl. He knew I might be a witness so he wanted to avoid any hint of collusion in the investigation.”

“What do you think might have happened to her Stiles?” Benton asked carefully.  
Stiles raised one eyebrow sardonically.

“I’m hoping that she’s just terribly embarrassed and avoiding her friends and family until she can calm down, but I’m a cop’s son and there’s already one missing teenager in town. When you add that to all the shit that has been going down in the last few months... I no longer see the world as a place where things turn out ok all the time. I’m worried about her because although we’ve drifted apart since we wound up going to different high schools, she’s still one of my oldest friends.”  
“Ok Stiles, I think that’s enough for now. Interview terminated at 11.43am.”

As Stiles and Melissa made their way to the Sherriff’s office Sam Benton looked towards the Deputy who was manning the front desk.

“I know I’m not familiar with the people in this town, that’s the whole reason the Sherriff got me in to do these interviews, but is it really likely that a teenage boy would be so dismissive of an offer of no-strings sex?”  
The Deputy snorted and rolled her eyes.

“You’ve only read the reports haven’t you? You didn’t look at the pictures?”  
“No?” Deputy Benton was a little confused.

As he was wondering why Tara was giggling so much a man walked in to the reception area.   
He was tall, dark and...   
Well there’s a walking cliché Benton thought to himself.   
His leather jacket did nothing to hide the obvious muscle he was blessed with and his face was worthy of a GQ model, even down to the designer stubble. Even his ‘resting murderer face’ screamed bad-boy, a combo guaranteed to make almost any woman and quite a few men fall at this God’s feet.   
Then the model smiled.

It was like sunlight in a dark forest. Suddenly Sam Benton, committed family man felt his Kinsey number moving ever so slightly upwards.

“Hi Derek!” Tara grinned back at the hunk. “The Sherriff said you’d be bringing in his lunch”

Derek grinned a little more and Sam felt himself nudging a 3.  
“You mean he complained that I would be bringing him his rabbit food and he wouldn’t be able to cheat like he usually does”

Tara waved the man through with a chuckle, her eyes following the movement of those tight jeans as he walked straight past several desks and knocked on the Sherriff’s door, entering a second later.  
Sam was following the jeans too.

“That was...?”  
“That is Stiles’ boyfriend, Derek Hale” Tara grinned “Half the town thinks it’s a terrible scandal and the other half wants to know what exactly Stiles’ secret is so they can copy it”  
“He is much older...”  
“I overheard Stiles chewing out Carmichael the other day for saying something. Derek may be slightly older but it is definitely Stiles who is in charge of their relationship. If you go back and read those reports about the Hale fire carefully you might spot the reason we’re all protective of Derek and understand why Stiles is so fierce to defend him. Sherriff Stilinski asked the state to lend you to us as soon as he knew Stiles might be a witness so as to avoid any trouble with higher ups, but you need to know that none of us, not even Carmichael thinks Stiles could be a suspect; and Carmichael hates the kid.”

“Having seen his boyfriend I’m thinking my first theory might be a wash”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
The first day back at school started surprisingly well.

Usually, Stiles flapped around his house until it was almost too late to make the bell and then raced up and down the car park trying to find a space for Roscoe before hurling himself out the door and running into homeroom.

This morning he had been carried into the bathroom by his boyfriend, while still mostly asleep and placed on the floor of the shower.   
Derek then turned the shower on.

The resultant squawk had almost frightened the Sherriff out of a year’s growth, especially since it was rapidly followed by the roar of an Alpha werewolf being sprayed by cold water.   
He later found out that Stiles had, even while in the process of waking up, created a shield which diverted the water into Derek’s face.   
Unfortunately Stiles was already soaked.

All was forgiven when Stiles came down, fully dressed and packed to find the breakfast feast Derek had cooked for him and his father.  
Derek also informed Stiles that he had taken the Jeep to the mechanic for a tune-up and therefore would be driving Stiles to school that morning, and picking him up afterwards.   
Stiles had seemed ambivalent about this information until Derek said something about Lydia picking out his outfit for some special occasion (the Sherriff hadn’t really understood what they were on about) and that seemed to have Stiles ready to cooperate more than usual.

The Sherriff informed Stiles that he had contacted the school to tell them that Stiles might need to be pulled out for a short time some time during the day, but he had not told them why. He did tell Stiles however. Someone in the FBI was making noises about the possibility of further troubles in Beacon Hills, and so as soon as the statement of interview Stiles had given yesterday was typed up, the Sherriff would be sending someone to collect Stiles so he could sign it. He asked Stiles to leave his phone on even in class, pretending not to notice when Stiles blinked and told him that he always had his phone on.

As Derek’s Camaro pulled up to the drop off zone in front of the school Stiles noted Jackson helping Lydia out of his car.   
He grabbed his backpack, snatched a swift but satisfying kiss through the window of the Camaro and hurried to meet them.   
Derek just rolled his eyes and pretended not to smile at him.   
Stiles noticed a few people trying to see who was driving the black car and he smirked as several people began to speculate the identity of the girl (or possibly boy, but that was rating only at 15% probability) Stiles had somehow managed to ‘hook’.

Stiles pondered the injustices of the world for a few seconds. Most young males, who were straight, or mostly straight, lived in terror at being labelled ‘queer’ or something equally derogatory. (Although Danny, who was out and proud, was one of the most macho and beloved students in the school) Stiles knew he fell far short of such macho heights, and yet he, wanting and needing people to learn of his bisexuality was continually labelled as straight, no matter how ‘gay’ he tried to act.   
It was a quandary alright.

Stiles waved at Allison, Scott and Isaac as they walked up the stairs.   
Scott seemed to hesitate a little but Stiles just came over and hugged him, whispering in his ear that he still wasn’t forgiving him fully, but that he still loved his ‘bro’.

“Stiles, do you know what top-secret mission my Dad is up to today? He wouldn’t tell me” Allison even pouted like a Disney Princess.  
“He, Derek and Creepter are investigating the area where Isaac got hurt.”  
“Any word on Heather?” Isaac asked quietly. His face was filled with concern for Stiles.

“Heather? Your friend from Nursery School Heather?” Scott asked.  
“Yeah” Stiles dumped his books into his locker and they began to head for Homeroom where the new schedules would be handed out. “She went missing during her birthday two days ago. Another girl went missing the night before from the Preserve. Dad is worried”

“Could it be the Alphas?” Scott asked.  
“Maybe?” Stiles pondered “But I can’t see them benefiting from it in any way. With our luck it will be some new ‘Monster of the Week’ that’s moving in”  
“Have any of you ever heard of the concept of ‘lowering your voice’ or ‘not discussing things in a crowded corridor’?” Danny snarked as he walked up to join them.

Danny giving Stiles a quick hug was cause for much whispering and texting from the surrounding mob.   
He had been much more affectionate since Stiles had pretty much saved his life by getting that bullet.   
(plus he had finally admitted that, yes, Stiles was attractive to gay guys, even if he wasn’t quite Danny’s personal type).   
Since Isaac had pretty much wrapped an arm around Stiles immediately after Scott had let the boy go, and Lydia Martin AND Jackson Whittmore were not only allowing themselves to be seen with Stiles in public but actually talking (and SMILING!!!) with him the gossips of Beacon Hills High had a lot to work with.

Homeroom was more painless than Stiles recalled, perhaps because he had more than just one person to compare schedules with so his time was more filled and passed much more quickly.

“I’m just amazed that all of us are in the same homeroom, let alone that our schedules match so well!” Allison smiled. “We all have at least two other people in every period of each class we all take! Isaac, you and Jackson have Art with me first period!”

Stiles, Lydia and Jackson all looked at Danny who grinned sweetly and fluttered his eyes.

“You didn’t!” Isaac was awed at both the skill required and the fact that he had been thought of for inclusion.  
“Of course I didn’t!” Danny said seriously “That would be illegal”

“Oh great!” Stiles sighed “Danny, Scott, Jackson, Lydia and I have Chemistry right before lunch. There goes my appetite on a Monday”  
“Best I could do Stiles; unless you and Ms Martin want to drop out of AP Modern Government. That’s what screwed with the scheduling the most.”  
“No way; I love that subject!” Stiles exclaimed “And Lydia needs it so she can further her plans for world domination!”

Lydia smiled sweetly at him and pecked him on the cheek, setting the gossips off again.   
One girl almost fell off her chair.

“What do you guys have last period?” Scott asked “I’ve got AP Biology with Isaac”  
“AP English” Stiles said and all the others nodded.  
“Sorry guys” Isaac seemed a little embarrassed “I was going to try for it, but English is probably my worst subject and...”  
“We’ll tutor you!” Stiles grinned “And Scotty too, so next year we can be all together and terrify the teacher into submission with our sheer numbers!”

Isaac looked so pathetically grateful that Stiles and Allison just had to trap the blond in a ‘kiss sandwich’.   
Scott pouted at his girlfriend kissing Isaac and complained that he was feeling unloved, so Isaac grinned mischievously and moved in to kiss Scott, his lips making loud smacking sounds.   
Scott lost it and started a giggle wave that swept the entire group and only the bell ringing prevented the Homeroom teacher from having words. It was a good morning.   
(Oh, and the gossip DID fall off her chair at that one)

Just before lunch, however, the good day came to a petty, mean-spirited, acid-tongued end.

“Mr Stilinski! You know that phones are not to be left on while in class. Hand it over and you can come and collect it after school has finished!”

Stiles ignore Harris’s whining voice and checked the message he had just received.

“Mr Stilinski! How dare you ignore me! Not only will I be confiscating your phone, but I will not be returning it at all. Further, it seems you will be breaking your own school record by not only receiving a detention on the first day back, but an entire week of detentions, both lunchtime and after school.”

Stiles looked up at the teacher who was already halfway down the aisle to where he and Lydia sat.

“I’m sorry Mr Harris” he began in a much more conciliatory tone than anyone had ever heard him use to the hated Chemistry teacher before, “But my Dad made arrangements for me to have permission to receive calls and messages in class today. The office should have informed everyone. I probably should have had it on silent, I realise, but I might have missed the message that way, and it is pretty important, hence the whole ‘getting permission to receive messages’ part.”

“No one had informed me of this!” Harris snorted “Hand that phone over now Mr Stilinski, oh, and my punishment will stand.”  
“I’m sorry Mr Harris” Stiles said calmly, a note of steel creeping into his voice, “But I won’t be able to do that. I need to reply to this message and then go to the office to be picked up from school for a couple of hours.”  
“Don’t you dare defy me!” Harris almost spat, “Why would you need to leave? Now hand me that phone immediately and sit down and be silent.”  
“I’ll be in the main office if you need to discuss this further” Stiles was remarkably calm, “I’ll ask my Dad to come in and sort things out when he’s free shall I?”

Harris paled a little, and then reddened.

“Is that a threat Mr Stilinski?” 

Stiles looked genuinely confused at that remark.

“What? No, it’s me trying to be adult about all this. I figured one of us needed to be.”

Lydia sighed softly beside him. Stiles had been doing so well; still, she thought, points for effort.

Harris reached out and attempted to snatch the phone from Stiles’ hand.   
The young man, his reflexes honed not only by the constant danger of the last few months but his recent training pulled his arm back in one swift movement, slid off the back of his lab-stool so that it was between him and the irate teacher and took a further step backwards.  
He held his empty hand out to indicate he wished Harris to stop. 

“Mr Harris, you’re being unreasonable and I frankly don’t have time to deal with it right now...”

His phone began to ring.  
“That’s my Dad, probably wondering why I haven’t replied to his message and why I’m not waiting for him at the office. I’ll be leaving now.”

He answered his phone and turned towards the door.  
“Sorry Dad I...”

Harris was still for a second then exploded.

“I don’t care what you or your alcoholic parent thinks. This is my classroom and you will not receive any special treatment in here. Just because your father is still somehow the Sherriff is no reason to think you can just ignore the rules you delinquent. I knew you were stupid but I didn’t think even you were that stupid. I will be making sure that you are expelled from this school and...”

He stopped speaking suddenly as Lydia Martin stood up from her seat and glared at him.

“And what do you think you are doing Ms Martin? Sit down immediately!”

“No” Lydia said in a voice that made more than half the class terrified and also more than half the class aroused. “I’m standing up for Stiles. You have continually harassed, demeaned and bullied him since the first day of freshman year. I don’t know what your problem with him is, but it has begun to affect your teaching, which up until now was the only reason I tolerated your petty and rather stupid personality.”

“I will expel you too!”

Lydia smiled coldly at him.

“Try it” and walked out after Stiles.

Seconds later Jackson, Scott, Danny and most of the class walked out after them.  
Stiles was standing in the corridor visibly shaking.

“He’s not worth your nervous energy Stiles” Lydia said as she hugged the boy. “Now go meet your Dad, I’ll go talk to the office”  
“I’ll take notes for you in AP History” Jackson offered as he and Danny both hugged Stiles too “If you don’t make it back in time”

Stiles went. 

The gossips in that class didn’t even have the ability to imagine what had happened over the break.

Maybe the world was ending?


	5. I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jennifer teaches them all an important lesson (literally!)  
> Stiles falls for a couple of fellow students (or possibly ON?)  
> Scott gets disturbed from outside and then from within (about damned time!)  
> Stiles does not end up badly hurt (for once!)  
> Lydia reveals herself to be a truly evil genius (like...duh!)  
> Derek is adorkable, embarrassed and brilliantly clever (swoon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stiles discovers a reason NOT to kill Jennifer  
> Harris is in deep doodoo  
> Lydia is way too good at this 'high school' thing  
> Danny shows himself a true friend

“So Derek has called a pack meeting for tonight at your place, do you know what it’s about Stiles?”

Stiles turned to Scott as he closed his locker.

“It’s about the Alpha Pack, you’ll be there I hope?”

Scott began to scowl but Stiles nipped that in the bud.

“Don’t start with me Scott. I don’t care what your issues with Derek are, and quite frankly I’ve already cut you more slack than any other person would ever get. You know me; you know that’s the truth. These people are dangerous Scott, I just know it and whether you’re part of Derek’s pack or not probably won’t make a blind bit of difference if they’re here to hurt us or cause us trouble. I do not want you to force me into a situation where I have to choose between my brother and my boyfriend; you do not want me to be forced into that situation either, trust me on that. So suck it up and act like an adult instead of a teenager, ok? Be at the damned meeting. Sit there and listen, ok? And by listen I mean actually listen. Allison will be there and I’ve already got her promise that she will be encouraging you to pay attention for once.”

“What does that mean?”  
“She will have her Taser on her, and she will be using it if you start distracting her from the meeting. This is important Scott; like life and death important. Erica and Boyd are still missing; Isaac was badly hurt – he still doesn’t have all his memories back! What Chris and I found in his records doesn’t bode well for us, and we’ll be sharing that information tonight too. Your mom will be coming after her shift finishes, so be a grown up, even if it’s just for one night!”

The bell to signal last period went off and Stiles and Scott parted at the end of the corridor.

Stiles wasn’t looking forward to English.  
Allison met him at the door.

“It’s my turn to be your study-buddy for this class!” She grinned at him, “Danny is partnering with Lydia and Lydia chose Malcolm McTaggert to be Jackson’s partner, since he’s not only great at the subject but helped tutor Jax last year.”

Stiles grinned back at her but she could see the boy was tense.

“It’s ok Stiles. We’re all wearing the pendants Deaton made for us, and first sign of anything dangerous we’re going to leave the room and meet up in the gym, ok?”  
“Oh, speaking of rooms and leaving; what was the fallout with the whole Harris thing, if you know; I was too busy giving Scott a tongue-lashing about the meeting tonight to ask him about it?”

“Harris is off on stress-leave for the foreseeable future. Lydia and Danny gave statements about what happened and one of the other students had actually started recording it on their phone, so he’s facing serious disciplinary sanctions too. You might be surprised to learn Stiles, but several of the students in our class also gave statements about Harris’ systematic problems with you over the years. The new Principal was obviously shocked and Lydia got her to agree to go over your academic record to see what they can find. You’ve lost a lot of points over the last couple of years due to disciplinary issues I know, and it might give you a better GPA come graduation.”  
“But I’m only 0.3 behind Lydia as it is! This could allow me to pass her!”

“And that will make my eventual crushing victory over you even more meaningful Stiles!” Lydia linked her arm with his as she swept into the room with him.

“Lydia! My Goddess, my Queen! I don’t suppose...”  
“You’ll see it when he comes to pick you up and no spoilers! I worked hard to find a look that enhanced his appeal without making everything too R-rated for a school parking lot. Plus he’s been coached as to what to do and how far to go with the PDA, so no pushing it. We’ve only got one chance to make a first impression.”

Before Stiles could ask any more the bell rang again and Jennifer Blake swept into the room.

She was certainly pretty, and very professional.   
Stiles could still feel a slight aura of wrongness clinging to her, but it seemed somehow more muted than the last time they had met.   
He was convinced of two things by halfway through the lesson: she was still evil and; she was one of the best English teachers he’d ever had.

Damn, he thought to himself, I hope we don’t have to kill her before mid-terms.

Even if she was some sort of evil Sorceress, creature of darkness or serial killer with mutant powers; she was an engaging and funny teacher who really knew her subject.   
Rather than simply focussing on a single text or author, like previous teachers; she wanted the class to look at broader definitions; specifically, the novelist, playwright or poet who captured the essence of a nation, genre, or a period in history. She told the class she had chosen one of each which they would be working with in class which demonstrated one example of ‘the classic whatever’. Her ‘classic American novel’ was Tom Sawyer; her ‘classic poet of Romance’ was Elizabeth Barrett-Browning and; her ‘classic play about a period in time’ was The Crucible by Arthur Miller.

Stiles had been a little disappointed at the three clichéd choices, until she had explained further. In class they would work together to read and analyse the works she had chosen, and that was why she’d chosen things that most people would already know. Plus, she quipped, she could get all the boring repetition out of the way up front and be excited by their team projects. Each pair would choose one work or creative from each genre and over the course of the year, research and analyse their choices using the tools she would teach them. Then at the end, only half the marks would rely on the usual exam; instead the pairs would present their works to the class in whatever form they chose, and she would mark them. Before Lydia could even draw breath to ask she was already being handed a detailed criteria sheet. 

Stiles and Allison took advantage of the discussion time Jennifer allowed each pair to start brainstorming novels and titles. 

Stiles suddenly stopped speaking as a wave of nausea swept over him.   
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a black dot moving outside, directly towards the window.   
Without thinking he leapt out of his seat and tackled the pair sitting beside the window it was heading for, pushing them to the ground and covering both girls with his body.  
Glass shattered and people screamed as a very dead crow came hurtling through the broken pane and bounced off the floor between Stiles and the front of the room.

Panic was beginning to ensue as more dark shapes were spotted heading towards them. 

Allison helped Stiles up, and then they both helped the terrified girls he had rescued. Jennifer stood at the front of the room with a look of confusion and shock on her face. Lydia simply told the people nearest to the door to ‘get the hell out of here’, and then she turned and ordered the rest of the students to evacuate quickly but ‘without pushing or panicking IF you can do that’.

Jennifer seemed to snap out of her daze as the students began obeying Lydia and was soon helping them leave as more and more birds began destroying the entire wall of windows.   
Stiles stood back, trying to protect the crowd from flying glass with his hoodie-clad back.   
Finally everyone was out and Allison insisted on checking him for injuries.

“Stiles!” she whispered fiercely, “you have several large shards of glass embedded in your back!”  
“I can feel them.” Stiles whispered back, “But for some reason they aren’t hurting.”  
“They don’t seem to be bleeding either.” Lydia was also checking him out, “Jackson, pull one out”

Allison and Stiles tried to protest but Jackson was fast.   
His finger was sliced open by the razor sharp edge of the glass, but healed as soon as he dropped it in a bin nearby.   
Where it had been embedded in Stiles’ back was a patch of roughened skin with a small hole in it, no trace of blood evident, the hole closed up even as they watched.

“Ok,” Allison said slowly, “Weird. Let’s discuss this later. Jackson, get the rest while no one is watching and I think Ms Blake told us all to assemble in the library?”  
“We’ve only got 10 minutes left; I expect we’ll be heading home soon.” Lydia looked at her watch, “Stiles, once Jackson has removed all the glass, take his bag and go to the bathroom and change.”  
“Change?”  
“Only your jacket! Don’t be a baby! If you spoil this afternoon’s effort I will make your life a hell Stiles, go change”

Stiles took the bag from a smirking Jackson and went to find a bathroom.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
“Lydia Martin is a lying liar who lies!”  
“Suck it up Stilinski”  
“Just the jacket! She’s evil! She’s...”  
“You look good Stiles, stop whining.”  
“I will choke you with your own scarf!”

Jackson and Isaac just rolled their eyes as they continued to escort Stiles to the front of the school. Allison, Danny and Scott were waiting for them. Lydia seemed to have gone elsewhere.

“Where is the evil mastermind of my humiliation?”  
“What is your problem Stilinski?” Jackson snarled “How is this humiliation?”  
“These pants for a start!”

His friends all looked at him in confusion. 

“What’s wrong with the pants?” Isaac was confused.  
“I can barely move in them.”  
“Oh for heaven’s sake Stiles” Allison sighed “You look good in them.”  
“No I don’t! I’m a scrawny stick insect. People will scream, probably, there may even be pointing and laughing!”

“Stiles?” Danny was frowning with a look of concern on his face “Are you seriously telling me you think you’re not hot?”

“Of course I’m not!” Stiles flailed “I can almost achieve ‘twink’ if I try. Sometimes I might even manage ‘cute’, but I’m the comedy relief here. I’m a skinny collection of pale skin and flabby limbs, and it’s worse beside all of you super-models. Derek is going to look at everyone laughing at me and run for the hills”

“No one can look good next to me” Jackson said quietly “But you are alright I suppose”

Everyone was staring at Jackson now.

“Stiles, you know Jackson. From him, that’s practically a proposition for sex” Danny whispered.

Stiles seemed caught between a flail and a blush.

“And by the way,” Danny continued “Those pants do some pretty amazing things for your ass, which has always been pretty good even in the sacks you like to wear.”

Everyone automatically checked out Stiles’ ass.

“Oh my... EW!” Scott seemed about to vomit.

“See!” Allison chirped “Even Scott thinks your ass is sexy!”

Scott seemed about to cry, or possibly smash his head repeatedly against the wall to let his brain out.

“Hey Scott, what do you think of his shoulder to waist ratio?” Danny grinned as Scott’s eyes flickered to Stiles, and he began to gag.  
“Don’t worry Mom” Isaac massaged said shoulders, “Dad will love your new outfit”

Stiles glared at the curly-haired joker.

“Back to serious things” He sighed “Where has Lydia gone?”  
“She’s off to set up phase two of her plan” Allison said simply. “We’re to hold you until the right moment and then let you out”  
“She has phases? Phases are a thing?”

Isaac was seriously massaging his shoulders now to try to calm him.

“I didn’t agree to phases”

Danny was worried.  
“Stiles, we’re going to be having a talk about this later, ok? I always thought your self deprecating humour was just a thing, but if you seriously don’t realise that most of the kids in this school genuinely like you, and at least half of them think you are not only ‘cute’ but ‘sexy as all hell’ then I’m going to have to stage an intervention.”  
“You really think...?”  
“You know how I said you weren’t my ‘type’ before? Well in those pants I can finally see your thighs, and those suicide sprints Finstock had you doing all last year have done some amazing things to them. What would you say Scott?”

Scott who had finally calmed down looked at Stiles’ legs and began gagging again.

“Is he alright?” Isaac asked Allison.  
“Yeah” she replied “He’s just experiencing the conflict of realising that the guy he’s had sleep-overs with for the last nine years and who he thinks of as a brother is someone he could find sexually attractive.”

“Maybe the two thoughts fighting for room in his tiny mind will stretch it out a bit?”  
Lydia had returned.

“Lydia, why am in this blazer?” Stiles whined.  
“It makes you look slightly older than you normally do, the colour makes your skin look like burnished ivory and the length means that everyone’s gaze is drawn to what I always suspected was a spectacular ass. So nice to see I was right.”

Stiles was gasping a bit now.

“Mrs Lenningham is all set for phase two, and Derek should have pulled up where I told him to already. Now we just need... “

The bell sounded.  
“...and phase three is go!”

“Wait? Mrs Lenningham? The Librarian? She never goes home early.” Stiles was lost.  
“She is today”

The rational part of Stiles’ brain was trying to work out the significance of Mrs Lenningham. She was the most universally loved teacher in the school, while somehow also being the most feared. She had been a teacher at Beacon Hills High for years, longer than almost any other member of staff. She was...

“Time to go!” Lydia swept into the emptying corridor and headed for the front doors.

The crowd outside the main entrance seemed slightly larger than usual.   
Some people were behaving normally, but several large groups were hovering in a way not usually seen at release time in a high school. 

Stiles found his gaze drawn to the black Camaro parked next to Jackson’s Porsche, just near the front of the parking lot.   
Leaning against the side was Derek.   
He wasn’t wearing the black jeans; instead his legs were wrapped in...   
Corduroy? Chocolate brown corduroy...   
Whoever said corduroy couldn’t be sexy would be eating their words right now, along with their tongue.   
Not only did they make Derek’s ass look good, but they seemed to be screaming ‘touch me, stroke me, I’m soft and warm’.

The dark green Henley was looser than Stiles had been expecting, but still tight enough to give a hint of the muscle underneath. The colour made Derek’s eyes seem even greener than usual.

It took Stiles a few seconds to realise that Derek was clean shaven.   
Without his usual stubble he seemed more innocent and younger...   
Ah! Lydia’s plan.

Mrs Lenningham was heading for her car in the teacher’s car park, only a few yards from Derek.   
As she put her bags on the roof to unlock her door, one tumbled down and spilled several books onto the ground. Derek was there in seconds, helping retrieve them.   
Some in the crowd nearby started to weep as he bent down.

“Oh thank you so much... Derek? Derek Hale? Oh my goodness! How is one of my favourite students? It’s so wonderful to see you again!”

She hugged him tightly and there were several murmurs of envy.

“Hello Mrs L”  
“It’s so nice to see you again Derek!” Mrs Lenningham said brightly as she packed her backseat. “You must be here to pick up that gorgeous boyfriend of yours hey?”

Derek smiled softly and blushed a little.   
There was a chorus of ‘awws’ from several quarters.   
Almost all the females present either slumped with disappointment or set their shoulders for a challenge.   
Several of the guys present seemed more energised instead. Danny scanned the faces but shook his head and whispered to Stiles.  
“No surprises there, oh well, I’ll keep hunting since Miguel has chosen another”

“And Stiles is a go!” Allison got a nod from Lydia and pushed the boy out the door.

As Lydia, Jackson, Allison and Stiles walked down the stairs with Scott and Danny behind them (flanking Isaac) Stiles had a sudden terrifying realisation.

Oh my God, he thought, I’m Lindsay Lohan!   
Don’t fall in the trash; don’t fall in the trash...

The moment when Derek sensed him was obvious.   
He straightened up and his face beamed as he smiled shyly at the group descending the stairs.   
Feverish argument and discussion broke out around them as the gossip squad went into hyper-drive.   
Danny was the most popular bet for the potential boyfriend, although Isaac was also in the running.   
Several people were betting on him because they knew just enough about Isaac’s living situation.   
Those who knew more were shouting the first group down using words like ‘guardian’ and ‘adoption’.

Stiles was somewhat surprised to realise that his name was not being laughed out of contention.   
Not only that, but several female voices could be heard hoping it was NOT him, because that would mean ‘another hottie lost to the gays’.

When Scott, Isaac and Danny peeled off to Danny’s car Stiles began to feel the attention of the entire yard bearing down on him.

Derek stood beside the librarian and her car and Mrs Lenningham turned to spot Stiles and smiled at him too.

“Stiles dear!” She grinned “I’m so tempted to try to steal this wonderful gentleman from you, but you look too darned sweet together for me to go through with it!”

Stiles was beginning to understand the true, terrible power of Lydia’s plans.  
Stiles smiled back at her and Derek kissed him chastely on the lips before they almost unthinkingly slipped an arm around each others’ waist.

“Now Stiles, Derek was one of my favourite students when he was a student here, and he’s been through a lot in his life, remember? So you make sure to treat him right and try hard not to hurt him, ok?

Lydia had scripted this perfectly, she was a Goddess.

Mrs Lenningham insisted on one last hug from Derek and then got into her car and drove away. People were taking video of Stiles and Derek.

“Get in the car Stiles” Derek whispered as they rejoined Lydia and Jackson.  
“I can’t feel my legs”  
“Get in the damned car” Derek growled “Please”

Stiles looked at his boyfriend and smiled at him.

“What’s the next phase of her plan?”

Derek rolled his eyes.  
“I’m supposed to wing that” he sighed “I was thinking we might drive around listening to music, stop for some curly fries and then go watch the sunset from the top of the Lookout?”

Hmm, Stiles thought, maybe Lydia wasn’t the only genius in Beacon Hills?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn't get the reference Youtube "Mean Girls -walk of the plastics"


	6. The Eternal Sunshine Of The Mindful Spot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott and Derek have words  
> Claudia's secrets are starting to be revealed  
> Scott demonstrates true mastery of the Snoopy Dance  
> Everyone has cake  
> Lot's of people cry  
> Secrets are revealed - sooooo many secrets  
> Plans are made  
> Very bad news is received  
> Lydia orders muffins and coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There might be a slight triggery bit during the first part, but not serious description - just several characters telling secrets they've kept inside them  
> Hope this isn't too weird - it freaked me out a bit when I read what was happening  
> As always, review if such is your wont!

“No, don’t get up, let him sleep”  
“He’ll want to be up soon, he’s got guests coming and you know how he is about...”  
“Yeah, I know... This won’t take too long, and maybe if we have to keep it down, we might be able to actually do this”  
“Do what Scott?”  
“Is he having nightmares again?”

Derek looked down at the strong yet fragile boy sleeping peacefully against him.

“A few, it’s not so bad if one of us is with him. The couple of times I’ve had to go out on patrol or something, Isaac or Lydia took over for me. He needs to know he’s not alone.”

Scott looked particularly stricken.

“I’ve been a real dick about him, haven’t I?”

Derek just stared.

“And about you”

More staring.

“You’re not going to make this easy are you?”

One eyebrow arched ever so slightly.

“I did what Stiles asked me. At least I think I did. I tried to imagine what I would do if my mom was being threatened and I had to kill to protect her. I... I’m scared Derek. Because I really don’t think I could do it. If I were in that situation I think whichever decision I made, it would destroy me. I’ve never been strong like him; or as smart. I’m beginning to realise that a lot of the shit I’ve put him through over the past few months is actually me being jealous of him.”

Derek moved both brows at that.

“Did you know we met in kindergarten? He found me crying in the sandbox after Jackson had pushed me down and thrown my lunch over the fence. He punched Jackson in the face, twice, and then he sat down and gave me his sandwich. It was awesome. First time I’d ever had a roast turkey and roast potato sandwich. Stiles ate fruit for lunch, and then gave me his pudding cup too. Do you realise how Stiles feels about pudding cups? I think I began to worship him a little right then, and I didn’t know about his pudding thing yet”

Derek nodded slightly.

“He’s always been the one who looks after me. Helping me study, keeping me from bullies, making sure there was an inhaler close. Even after the bite it was him who kept me safe. He taught me how to control myself, so I wouldn’t hurt the people I love...”

Scott was not quite crying, but it was close.

“I got caught up in suddenly being the strong one; suddenly being the powerful one. I had a girlfriend, I was suddenly first-string and I just took it for granted that Stiles wouldn’t mind our roles being exchanged”

Derek frowned.

“I know, I know! I was wrong about that too wasn’t I? We didn’t change roles at all. Stiles kept right on being my protector, only now he had to try to protect me from myself as well.”

Derek relaxed.

“I can’t promise to fix all the mistakes I’ve made all at once Derek, but I can promise to try. It’s going to take me a while to sort out my issues, but I’ve got to promise you, and Stiles, and mostly myself that I won’t let my problems interfere with what I’m needed for.”

Derek nodded slightly.

“I know I hurt you almost as much as I hurt him with the whole Gerard thing. I’m still working out exactly why what I did was so bad, and sometimes I find myself trying to make excuses, but I’ve worked out enough to know that I should have trusted Stiles at least, even if I wasn’t prepared to trust you yet. I’ll apologise to him when I can actually say it properly, but for now... Derek, I’m really sorry I lied to you and... and I wanted to thank you for trying so hard to keep me alive and as safe as I could be. I didn’t make it easy for you, and I certainly wasn’t grateful for it at the time, but now... Thanks for everything.”

Derek held his hand out to shake Scott’s.   
Scott took his hand, but instead of shaking it, Scott knelt before the man and lifted Derek’s hand to the side of his neck.

“If you’re still willing to let me...”  
“Pack” Derek said, his eyes glowing red softly.

Both men felt the pack bond snap into focus, warm and strong and... actually... surprisingly strong.   
Stiles must have felt it too because he began to stir.

“Derek? Something’s happening with Scott. I can feel...”  
“He’s ok Stiles, he’s here, he’s safe”  
“Keep him safe... keep him secret... ha! Scott is my precious!”

Derek and Scott shared a look that only someone who had had to deal with a semi-conscious Stiles would truly understand.   
When they both realised that they were sharing a look, they both snorted back a laugh.

“Stiles, the rest of the pack will be here in about twenty minutes, you wanted me to wake you...”

Derek watched as Stiles leapt from his lap and practically bounded into the kitchen.

“Oh my God! I have to get the oven on!”  
“Oven?” Scott asked confusedly.  
“I helped Stiles make cookie dough before” Derek said “And he made some sort of cakey thing that needed to rest before serving?”  
“Is it a funny sort of yellow colour?” Scott asked hopefully.  
“Yes Scott, I am making Mom’s Sunshine Cake!”

Scott did what could only be described as ‘the Snoopy dance’.   
The Sherriff, beer in hand and chatting away to Chris Argent as they walked in from the backyard, stopped as Scott was going for another circuit of the sofa.

“Did someone drug Scott?”  
“Hey Sherriff! Stiles is making Sunshine!”

The Sherriff blanched slightly, before looking worried.

“Not literally!” Derek hastened to explain “It’s some sort of cake”

The look on the Sherriff’s face was achingly familiar to Derek.   
It was a mixture of shock, nostalgia, joy, heartbreak, excitement and loss.

“It’s been a while since he made that.” John smiled sadly.

“Since who made what?” Melissa said as she came through the front door with Isaac and Peter close behind her.   
The rest of the pack trailed in behind them.   
Deaton turned as he entered and cast some sort of rune on the threshold.

“Mom!” Scott ran to embrace her, “I thought you weren’t going to be here till late?”  
“Carol owed me a favour and it was a pretty dead night, so she swapped her short shift for my long shift. This way I can cover her for Saturday, so she can make Abby’s Recital”  
“Mom... Sunshine Cake!”

Melissa seemed stunned for a few seconds, before she turned to Derek and embraced him.

“Thankyou! Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou! “ She was crying “I don’t know if you did it on purpose or if you’re just a gift from God, but you’ve brought him back to us!”  
“I take it this cake is unusual?” Peter drawled from his usual corner.  
“Claudia used to make it, but not very often” Melissa explained. “She taught it to Stiles”

“It’s the most amazing thing you’re ever going to taste!” Scott enthused. “And I mean, ever. No food on the planet will ever be as good as this cake. Even people who hate cake would fall in love with it”  
“None of us ever knew when she’d make one” John’s voice was quiet “There are rules apparently”

“You cannot make it unless you are happy” Scott recited as if from memory. “And you must think only happy thoughts when you’re making it! Tears will make it salty; frowns will make it faulty!”  
“You cannot make it unless you share it” Melissa added. “If even one person is turned away, you can’t make it again for a year and a day!”  
“You cannot make it for anyone you don’t love” John almost whispered. “Everyone you share it with must be in your heart. Whether parent or lover; sibling or friend; teacher or student; let your love have no end! ”

“I can’t remember the last rule!” Scott said nervously.

“You must think of the love you bear for those who will eat it every minute you make it” Stiles said as he brought the cake in “Love is the most important ingredient! The sun sends rays from high above; let all below be filled by love. Oh, and usually Mom would sing and dance as she baked it”

“Is that what that noise was?” Derek teased.  
“Do not harsh my mellow!” Stiles thundered with a grin “The Spice Girls are perfect baking background! Now... tell me what you want, what you really, really want!”

It was a large cake; huge in fact.   
Stiles had forgone the usual cake tins and baked this monster in an enormous deep roasting pan.   
How he had found a plate large enough to serve it on was a mystery; let alone how he had managed to get this Cakezilla out of the pan.

It was yellow, like dandelions or sunflowers or daffodils.   
The top glistened with some sort of syrup that seemed to have soaked into the golden crust. It smelt of lemons and sugar and... sunshine?

Stiles handed his father a large knife and set the cake down on the coffee table.   
Within minutes everyone had a slice and tasted it.   
There was silence for a few seconds before Deaton gasped and looked at Stiles with wide eyes.

“You trust me, even though I infuriate you sometimes, but you also kind of like the challenge of working out what I’m saying. You wish you’d come to know be better earlier, but you’re grateful you do now. You want to repay me somehow for the help I’ve given to Derek and his pack, as well as my being an unspoken of father figure for your best friend who needed someone to look up to when he was lost.”

Stiles was staring at the Druid. “How...?”  
“I may only be a Druid, but I’m a highly trained and very powerful Druid” Deaton smiled “I can feel the magic you’ve infused into every crumb”  
“Magic?” John asked.  
“It’s not Earth magic, or Spirit” Deaton mused “And I’m familiar enough with Mage power to recognise it so... it must be Sorcery!”

Stiles went pale.

“No! Don’t worry Stiles!” Deaton added quickly. “Not all Powers were evil. I’d been wondering if your mother named herself in honour of a kindred spirit or as a memento of a past existence... I guess we know the answer now”

“What magic is in this?” John asked, his fork halfway to his mouth.  
“I’m not sure but I think...” Deaton began.

“It’s so delicious!” Isaac was smiling with tears in his eyes as he sat leaning against Scott’s knees beside the sofa. “My mom used to make me pancakes like this, sort of, with lemon and sugar on them. Dad would laugh at her ‘English’ ways and then afterwards we’d all go to the park and Dad would play ball with Cam and me for hours and then we’d all go...”

Isaac stopped speaking and sat with widened eyes.  
“I... my Dad... I... that’s the first memory I’ve had of him for years that wasn’t about... About... about how he hurt me... I can say it! I can say it! I loved him, and he hurt me, and part of me hates him for that, but I also still love him, and I miss him too... and... and that’s ok! It’s ok! It’s ok!”

Scott wrapped the sobbing boy up in his arms and just let him cry.

“I miss Victoria” Chris whispered “I forgive her for leaving me and Allison. I wish she’d chosen us instead of her pride, but... I still love her”

“All I could feel for Laura was betrayal and hate. She’d abandoned me inside my own body. But even as I killed her I knew it was wrong, and I wish I could take it back. I wish I could ask Derek to forgive me’ but I can’t, so I have to make sure I never do anything like that again. I have to make sure everyone stays safe and happy, even if that means I have to leave if I make them uncomfortable...”

“I am not responsible for the actions Kate took. I was a kid, and she was the adult...”

“Sometimes I’m so afraid that I’m cold and manipulative, but I know that my friends truly care for me...”

“I’m lonely... I have terrible taste in guys, but I’m worth more than just settling for Mr Right-Now. I know that eventually I’ll find the perfect guy...”

Everyone was speaking over each other, not really listening to anything said by the others, but hearing it nonetheless.  
After several minutes the cake was finished and everyone sat there feeling drained but... lighter.

“Sunshine” Deaton mused “What does sunshine do?”  
“It lightens dark places” Lydia thought aloud.  
“It purifies” Chris said.  
“It strengthens our hope” Danny felt poetic, damn it!

Isaac was not alone in a tearstained face but everyone, even Peter, felt better than before.   
Derek caught his eye and sent a pulse of love down the pack bond.   
Peter’s eyes widened and his smile became slightly more tremulous.

“Well... John said as he wiped his eyes dry” Shall we start the meeting now?  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
It had probably been the most productive pack meeting in memory; even Peter’s memory!

Derek had reported the approach made to him by Deucalion and Kali, and their ultimatum to him and Scott to kill the rest of the pack and join the Alphas or face total annihilation.

Scott’s status as a potential ‘True Alpha’ had been explained, to the pack, by Deaton (in detail) and then in simple (to Scott). 

Stiles’ insistence on everyone renaming the role as ‘Special Snowflake of Awesome Cuddly Niceness’ had almost derailed both attempts.

Derek, Chris and Peter informed them that they were fairly certain the Alphas were hiding the missing pack members in an old abandoned bank near where Isaac had been attacked.   
The biggest evidence for this was not actually a report from the wolfy scouts, but the actual lack of such a report.

“I kept asking them both if they’d checked out all the buildings in the block, and they’d say ‘yes’” Chris explained “But when I took Lydia’s advice and asked about each building specifically I’d get a blank look from both of them and a ‘what bank?’ It was more than a little freaky.”

Stiles and Lydia had explained that they were worried about such a terrible hideout.   
There were just too many ways in to guard the building properly.   
When Jackson had pointed out the existence of the vaults meant the perfect secure place to keep prisoners, Lydia and Stiles had obliterated his reasoning by pointing out that one way in also meant only one way out, and it was sheer stupidity to ever put yourself in such a situation.  
Chris had agreed and Scott had breathed a silent prayer of thanks to whichever God it had been that meant his mouth had been full of cookie just as he was about to steal Jackson’s ‘thunder’.

“It has to be a trap” Stiles fumed “Let’s find out everything we can about this building”   
“On it already!” Danny’s fingers were flying.

The nature of Jennifer Blake was still a mystery, although Deaton looked disturbed at the description of the bird attack.

Chris reported that the level 2 interdiction was under consideration by the North American Council and would be finalised soon.

The Sherriff reported that the first missing girl had been found murdered in some ritualistic fashion.   
Lydia and Deaton had snatched the file and were poring over it already.   
Stiles had hugged himself tighter and bit his bottom lip until Derek drew him into a hug.  
About twenty minutes later, as they were discussing possible plans for rescuing Erica and Boyd, Stiles hissed suddenly and shot bolt upright.

“Stiles?” Deaton asked, concerned  
“Something... something just changed... I felt... it’s going all wrong... someone is meddling...”

He couldn’t explain any further and eventually relaxed again.

Finally, as things were winding down, Melissa cleared her throat and spoke.

“Ok, I know we’re tired, but I do have something I feel I should at least mention. It’s nothing overtly dangerous, but I think we’re all starting to realise that spotting a small thing early is more valuable than gold”  
“What is it Mom?” Scott seemed to have grown a little in the last few hours since learning of his responsibility as a ‘Special Snowflake’.

“Well, you know Stiles’ blood sample was sent to the lab for testing?”   
Everyone nodded   
“Because of the ‘unusual results’ found, it was labelled as a ‘contaminated sample’ and the report and any remaining sample gets sent automatically to the State Office for either retesting or if several samples turn up the same way, they already have a base of evidence for an inquiry”  
“Can Stiles be identified from the sample?” John asked.

“Of course not!” Melissa gave him a stink eye of epic proportions. “Unless someone does a full DNA match. Even his blood type is common enough to make him hard to pick out from a crowd. But the times the samples were submitted and the staff handling each sample were logged. I slipped it into a batch that was sent off about an hour before my shift started, but there’s still a chance I could be identified, and if I am identified, they’d eventually be able to get a link from me to Stiles, as a regular visitor to my emergency room if nothing else”  
“Is there a cause for concern?” Deaton asked.  
“I think Stiles’ sample has gone missing”  
“What? You ‘think’?” Chris was obviously worried.

“We got a blistering email from the Central Lab about shoddy packing, apparently one of the boxes the samples were couriered in was lost for three hours in the system and when they found it had opened in transit and had only half the samples it should”  
“But that doesn’t mean...” Scott began.  
“I have been a nurse longer than you have been alive Scott McCall and this sort of thing has never ever happened.”

Scott regretted letting Isaac and Allison share that last cookie.

“I could throw a data-bomb into the hospital’s internal systems and wipe all the evidence” Danny said distractedly “Except of course that I wouldn’t do that because it is illegal”

“It also wouldn’t help” John grunted, trying hard not to grin at the incorrigible youth, “For the same reason we suspect the Bank is the Alpha Lair. Trying to hide evidence usually just draws attention to the existence of something to hide.”

The Sherriff’s phone went off, indicating a message.   
Stiles looked at the clock, it was nearly midnight.

“This cannot be good news” He muttered, burrowing back into Derek.

Sherriff Stilinski spoke at length to the deputy on the other end and then sighed deeply as he hung up.

“I’m sorry Stiles. They found Heather’s body tonight. It looks like she was killed some time early in the morning, before dawn at latest. They’ve also found a third victim, the blood was still fresh so the examiner estimates he’s been dead maybe a couple of hours.”

Everyone felt their breathing hitch as they recalled Stiles’ outburst about 90 minutes earlier.

“How...?” Stiles sounded so broken.  
“All three look like the same ritual killing. I’ll get the details to you once I get in to the station. Chris... could you drive me in? I’ve had a couple of beers and...”  
“Of course I can” Chris Argent said simply, “And then I’ll stop off at home and bring back a few books.”  
“No researching tonight!” John said “You guys have school tomorrow remember?”  
“We don’t” Peter indicated Chris, Melissa and Deaton.  
“Ooh! Sleepover!” Melissa tried to lighten the mood.  
“Mom! Ew!”  
“I can help too” Derek rumbled.

“No, you need to be with Stiles tonight” John said, “Derek, keep him safe, from himself if not from anything else”

Stiles seemed almost emotionless.  
Lydia seemed thoughtful.

“Sherriff... Stiles has a double bed, correct?”

John nodded.

“But your guest room has a Queen sized bed doesn’t it?”  
“Yes, but I don’t quite...”  
“Puppy pile!” Isaac beamed as Derek stood to carry Stiles upstairs. 

“Peter” Lydia looked at him steely-eyed “You, Melissa and Chris will get at least 3 hours of sleep. I expect muffins and coffee at 6am so I’ll have time to get home to change for school.”

Peter nodded at her.

“Yes ma’am”  
“Danny, Jackson –with me” and she swept up the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cake is based on one of the most delicious things I've ever made / eaten (and you can easily do it gluten free too!)  
> Do a google for Nigella Lawson's Lemon Polenta Cake - if you use really good organic eggs, the colour can be STUNNING


	7. The Pen Is MIghtier Than The Claw(ed)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles has a spot of bother  
> Stiles loses his temper and takes off his nice face  
> Threats are issued on both sides  
> Only one side really scares anyone though  
> Stiles realises he's a marked man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, it just worked out this length  
> Isaac gets hurt again (off camera) - Stiles does not take that well  
> As I was writing part of this I was wondering where the hell it was all going. Well, knock me down with a feather when I saw who..oops, spoilers!  
> Comments make me feel more motivated! (just a hint)

Of course things would happen this way; it was the way the universe seemed to work around Stiles.

Despite having spent almost the entire morning at school feeling the speculative gazes of most of the other students when he really needed people around they were all missing in action.   
Bad enough that one of his oldest friends was dead because of some weirdo; now Stiles and his friends were having to deal with ‘the murder twins’ as Stiles had named them.   
The presence of the over muscled, ridiculously good looking arrogant bastard Alphas had been almost as hot a topic that morning as Stiles and his supposed sexual exploits. Between muttered threats and leering glares it had been made apparent that the pack were fair game so far as the twin Alphas were concerned and everyone had tried to stay together as much as possible. 

Of course that plan had failed spectacularly.

It had only been a couple of minutes, but Isaac (why was it always Isaac?) had been cornered alone and hurt pretty badly.   
Allison had wanted to go to her car to get her ‘big’ knives (the one’s she had hidden on her person weren’t painful enough she said) but Scott had actually been the voice of reason for once.   
He was growing up!

It was now Stiles who found himself alone.   
He’d been fairly sure that he would be fine waiting in the classroom with the teacher finishing her marking until Scott and the others came to collect him for lunch, but Marin Morrell had interfered and taken his unwitting guardian away, forcing him out into the corridors, alone.

Now he was pushed up against the lockers in an out of the way alcove by Thing 1 while Thing 2 stood watch.   
He was even getting bored with their really banal and unimaginative villain banter.   
Finally the one holding him up went too far and told him exactly what he was planning to do to the ‘red-haired slut’ before he helped Derek to kill her.

Stiles got mad.

“Hi! Can I say something at this point? I hate to interrupt when you’ve obviously got this whole ‘I’m a big bad wolf hear me roar’ thing worked out, but I feel it’s only fair to tell you a few things before you really screw the pooch. Dog pun intended”

The hand around his throat loosened slightly and the handsome face sneering at him from a few inches away sneered a bit more.

“Why would I care about what a dead human walking has to say?”  
“Well, for a start, I’ve got this!” Stiles grinned as he pulled an object from his pocket.

The Alpha stared.

“A pencil? What were you planning on doing, writing me a harsh note?”

Stiles smiled coldly and rolled his eyes.

“No, you big silly!” the smile was wide but more than a little scary “ok, let’s explore the options. What do we know about pencils?”

He was getting no joy from his audience at all, some villains? Jeez!

“They are long and pointy; they are useful for writing with and of course, they are made of wood.”  
“So?”  
“Aidan, hurry up and just bite him so we can get back to class before we get caught” the other wolf seemed nervous.

“I’ll speed it up for you, since you’re in a hurry and all” Stiles loved being helpful. “Pencils are also something you’re expected to carry around when you’re at school! This makes them an ideal weapon!”  
“A pencil against an Alpha Werewolf? You’re crazy”  
“Ah! But I haven’t told you the twist!”

You could see the wolf trying not to ask what the boy was talking about.

“The twist is, this is a very special pencil, because the lead, which is never made of lead by the way, it’s usually graphite, but this pencil isn’t pure graphite, it’s a mix of graphite and silver powder, and the wood, it’s pure Mountain Ash. See, isn’t that interesting to know?”

Stiles smiled into... Aidan’s? eyes as he plunged the pencil deep into the youth’s chest wall, between his ribs and into his right lung.

The wolf dropped Stiles immediately, clutched his side and red-tinged froth with black flecks spewed from his mouth.

“Now, you, the one I don’t know the name of. Take your brother away from me now. If you’re quick you might even find him some help before he dies. Also, if you touch or hurt or even cut in front in the lunch line one of my pack, I will see to it that your lives become the perfect definitive meaning of the words ‘short’, ‘humiliating’ and ‘agonising’. However scary you think Deucalion is, he’s got nothing on me. Oh, and Thing 2, this is for Isaac.”

He thrust another pencil through the stomach of the other wolf and smiled brightly at them.

“Tic Toc boys! Or should that be Tic Cough? Remember, neither of you will be able to touch those pencils, so I’d try to find a human to remove them. Such a pity Marin is busy having lunch isn’t it? Oh, and a message to her, from me, assuming you survive to deliver it...”

Both Alpha teens were clinging to each other, looking at Stiles as if he were the devil himself.

“If she is under any coercion or threat from Duke and his sidekicks, all she needs to do is ask and we’ll help her. Same goes for the two of you. I’ve done my research, and I know how your lives were before Deucalion came along, and how they’ve been since. So the offer is open to you two also. One time, no strings. Change sides, you live. If she doesn’t appreciate my seriousness, tell her that the only reason she’s still breathing at this school is because I respect her brother too much and my Dad’s sensitivities too much to just launch straight into the killing. That situation is soon to end. I hope you all think about this. Now... shoo!”

The twins were a blur as they bolted for the door out.

Seconds later Scott and Jackson came flying around the corner, followed by the rest of the pack. Scott immediately began pawing and sniffing at Stiles.

“Did they bite you? Are you hurt? I can smell blood! Stiles! You have blood on your shirt!”  
“Scott! It’s ok, it’s not mine. They didn’t bite me. I’m ok. I was prepared.”

Lydia smirked.  
“Those special pencils you made that I found on your desk last night?”

Stiles grinned as she pulled one from its hiding place in her hair.

“I borrowed one; I figured you’d made enough to share”  
“Can we lunch now? I’m starving” Stiles said.  
“We have to do something about that blood on your shirt first” Allison said.  
“Do you have a spare bandage on you?” Stiles asked her.  
“Of course”  
“Great! Scotty, claw me!”  
“What? No!”  
“Scott, just give me a claw to work with please?”  
“Here” Isaac offered one.  
“And this is why you are now my favourite!”

Isaac preened.  
Stiles carefully sliced a shallow cut on the outside edge of his arm and Allison dressed it.

“Everyone knows how clumsy I am, of course I’m going to run into the edge of a locker and get blood all over myself!”  
“How come you bleed from this cut, but the glass yesterday didn’t?” Jackson asked.  
“I have a theory” Lydia said, “But let’s discuss it over lunch?”

“I’m having two pudding cups!” Stiles said firmly, “I’m injured”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Lunch had been productive and almost tasty.   
Lydia’s theory had been discussed but Scott and Isaac had drawn the line when Stiles wanted to start experimenting.  
Danny had been horrified at the details of Stiles’ attack and took to heart the message that the human members of the pack were the targets at the moment.

“Not that I’m human” Lydia sighed “We still haven’t quite worked it out yet, but I’m immune to the bite so...”

Stiles sat up suddenly.

“Oh my God! That’s it!”  
“What’s it Stiles” Lydia sighed “You can’t go off on a tangent without taking at least one of us with you, remember?”  
“My sample! Who took it! Why they took it!”

It took a few seconds for everyone to work backwards through the various strands of recent events to find the track Stiles was on.

“We know it’s unlikely that the Alpha’s had anything to do with it. Similarly whatever Ms Blake is, she’s already here, I can’t see her having an organised group to lift blood samples from a courier on a moment’s notice”

Stiles was on a roll here.

“It wasn’t noted until after the results were recorded, so it’s not ME that was of interest, but something in those results. That means either someone working outside or behind the official systems, or within them”  
“You mean a government agency?” Allison was smart too.  
“Something in my sample must have triggered an alarm hidden in the system. The fact that they stole it means they’re not law enforcement, they’d work with the official protocols, not just go around them like this.”  
“So... FBI?” Jackson asked.  
“No, FBI would be too mainstream I think. They’ve taken the sample for a reason. Either to prevent any further testing or to test it themselves.”  
“So what they want to prevent is the record of further testing?” Danny nodded.  
“When you think about it in light of government agencies, there’s one obvious one; and the connection to me is obvious too. I know what they flagged in the system, and why they’ll be hunting for me.”

“We’ll keep you safe.” Scott stated.  
“If I’m right, you won’t be able to Scotty; but I think I might be ok with them finding me. If I’m right that is”

Danny and Lydia seemed on the verge of getting it.

“Think about it guys. Lydia made me think of it. Not. Human. My mom wasn’t human, which means my DNA isn’t fully human either. What’s been happening around the world recently? Especially in New York? In New Mexico? In London? Aliens. Think of the two aliens from New York, the hero and the bad guy, where were they from? Where have we worked out my mom was from? Isn’t it likely that some agency would have set out triggers to spot if similar DNA was found in the population?”

“I’m lost” Scott said.  
“Thor! Loki! The Avengers! Battle of New York Scott, ring a bell?”  
“But they... they’re Gods aren’t they?” Scott said slowly.

“Asgardians... Stiles, you’re an Asgardian!” Allison had it.  
“SHIELD, “Danny said “SHIELD are searching for a rogue, unidentified Asgardian. You!”

“Exactly, we’re not going to be able to hide from them for long, but hopefully we’ll have a chance to work out some strategies for dealing with them before they find me”

The bell signalling the end of lunch went.

“Chemistry next!” Jackson moaned “Let’s hope whoever they got to replace Harris is less of a jerk”  
“Amen to that!” Stiles said grinning.

Everyone departed for their respective classes.   
The chemistry group (Scott, Danny, Jackson, Lydia and Stiles) walked in to the room with an air of anticipation.

Setting up a complex looking tangle of tubes and beakers on the front bench was a very pretty, very young female in a lab coat.   
She smiled as the class entered and everyone felt suddenly more relaxed. This wasn’t a grumpy old ogre like Harris it seemed.   
The class took their seats as the woman finished her preparations and walked around the bench to stand at the front of the room.

“Good Afternoon class!” She beamed at them “I’m filling in for Mr Harris for a couple of weeks, so I hope you’ll be nice to me.”

She had a definite English accent.

“My name is Doctor Simmons; you can call me Gemma, but only so long as you don’t abuse the privilege!”

The class sensed this teacher was going to be a lot of fun.

“Now... who wants to learn about explosives?”


	8. The Ties That Bind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles is about to embark on an epic research binge until he receives an unexpected visitor  
> Humiliation and Pain ensue  
> An offer on the table is discussed, at the table

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of talk, then none, then more talk  
> The conversation in the second part may be hard to follow, although fans of West Wing, Gilmore Girls, Hill St Blues etc will cope  
> Isaac is awesome  
> Derek is awesome too  
> Slightly cliffy, but comments make me feel like writing (hint)

Stiles was sitting at his desk surrounded by books.

Some were propped up on the surface of the desk, nestled between other books, each tome keeping open specific pages of the one it was tucked into. Some were open, face down, on the bed, the floor, nearby chairs, and Stiles’ backpack. (If you laid it flat the books didn’t fall off as much)

Stiles had so many windows open on his computer that if Erica had been there, and hadn’t had the bite, and sat at a certain angle, and stared at the screen for too long, she might have had a seizure.

Stiles missed Erica.  
Stiles also had his phone on and downloading something.

Stiles contemplated the empty space on his wall.   
His ‘evidence wall’ for the killings had been confiscated by his dad on the grounds that it made Stiles miserable and bitchy.   
Over his flailing attempts to preserve it ‘in situ’ Sherriff Stilinski and Chris Argent had moved the entire thing downstairs into Dad’s office, where it joined the wall Stiles had made about the Alpha Pack, the wall Stiles had made about the plans to rescue Erica and Boyd and the wall Stiles had made where he was pretty sure he may just have worked out who really shot JFK.   
(Dad may not be convinced, but when SHIELD finally brought him in Stiles intended to get them to at least look at his theory)

The wall looked really empty without something on it.

Dad had made him promise not to make anymore walls for solving crimes or planning attacks...

He wasn’t really doing either of those things with his current research, was he?

Stiles got his backup, backup, emergency push pin stash from the other, other, secret hiding spot.  
He grabbed a particularly sparkly magenta ribbon for this one and a handful of pins and selected the printout that he wanted to start building from.

“Do you know when Derek is due back?”

Stiles did NOT shriek; not in any way, shape or form. His response was catlike and steely and... and...  
...and he fell over.

“Peter! I swear I am getting all of you BELLS! Tuned bells! So I can tell who it is by the sound. On windy days the pack will be able to play a tune!”  
“I’m assuming he’s out patrolling?”  
“Yes! He left about 10 minutes ago”  
“He actually left you alone in the house?”  
“Isaac and Scott had called and were 5 minutes away, Melissa was dropping Isaac off.”  
“Isaac has certainly improved his skills at stealth, but not enough to hide this well from me”  
“They got a flat. Derek had already gone, I wasn’t calling him back for that. I’m pretty secure in the house you know, I’ve prepared”  
“I got in”  
“Yeah... well...”  
“Your window was open; anyone could have gotten in”

“Ah! No! See! That’s where you’re wrong! I’ve tested it with Scotty, mostly because he’s the only one dumb enough to let me test things on him and also because he still owes me for being a dick so...”  
“Stiles”  
“Only people I trust can come through the window. If you’re not on my list, you get thrown into the yard, with emphasis!” Stiles made a fist and punched his open palm to make a thud/slap noise “And then there are hornets! And Wasps!”  
“No Bees this time?”  
“No! Bees die when they sting, so they’re a last line of defence”  
“Well it must not be working because I had no problems climbing in”  
“It’s working, I just trust you is all”

Peter blinked several times.

“Is that wise?”

Stiles rolled his eyes and gestured to a stack of books on the chair beside him.

“Hey, Zombie-Wolf, could you use those undead muscles to lift these onto the top of that shelf, where the space is, without knocking them over?”

Peter gave the boy a flat stare and then moved the requested stack.

“Now what oh great and fearless leader?”  
“Now, you sit” Stiles pointed to the now empty chair.

Peter sat warily.  
Stiles nodded happily at him and then proceeded to leap off his chair and onto the lap of the older wolf.   
His arms wrapped around Peter’s shocked and tense frame and he clung on with a strength that Peter had never felt from the boy before.

“Stiles? What the hell...”  
“Shut up Peter. We’re going to hug this out, ok? Well, since I have no intention of listening to you if you say no I probably shouldn’t add the ok, but it’s meant ironically, ok?”  
“Stiles...”  
“No talking, hugs”

Peter sat very, very still.

“You’re still not hugging. Peter, you know me. Am I going to give up on this? Just hug please”

Peter sighed dramatically and reluctantly hugged back.

“Why are you...?”  
“Shh!”  
“Stiles you’ve made...”  
“Shh!”  
“Stiles, how long...”  
“Peter, I have more than a dozen Mountain Ash pencils on my desk. I will use them to staple your mouth closed if you don’t shut up and let me love you, got that?”  
“Threats of violence to facilitate the building of trust; are you sure you’ve really thought this whole...”  
“You always hurt the ones you love Peter. Now shut up and hug back properly”

Several minutes passed.  
Peter actually began to relax into the hug. Then there was a noise outside.

“Isaac has arrived”  
“Keep hugging”

The bell rang.

“Upstairs Isaac! Use my window!” Stiles just slightly raised his voice.

A few seconds later, the golden haired pup was climbing through.

“Uh... Stiles?”  
“Shut up Isaac. Peter doesn’t believe we trust him, or like him very much, let alone love him, so we’re hugging it out”

Isaac blinked several times, slowly, at that and Peter just made a face and tried to shrug.

“No shrugs, hugs!”

Isaac stood looking at the scene for a few seconds more, then pulled Stiles’ vacated chair closer to the pair and wrapped his arms around both of them, tucking his face into the crook of Stiles’ throat and baring his own throat for Peter to do the same.

“What the...?” Peter exclaimed hoarsely.  
“Shut up” Stiles snapped.  
“Hug time” Isaac mumbled.

Peter felt something very old and very brittle somewhere deep inside him snap.   
It felt dry...   
broken...   
burned....   
It was like an old bone that had healed badly and had just been re-broken so it could be reset.   
It was like knocking down a wall to rebuild a ruin.  
It was humiliating.   
It was painful.   
It was agonising.  
It was...

It was wonderful.

When Derek finally came back from patrol the room lights had not been turned on at sunset and the three were still hugging it out.   
In the dark.  
Derek just blinked a few times and then knelt between Isaac and Peter and joined the embrace.

Peter was crying, silently.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
“So, last night I started working through a new thing...”  
“Oh Stiles! No!” Lydia sighed as she toyed with her lunch.  
“What’s the new thing buddy?” Scott asked loyally.  
“Myths and religions of the world!”

The table stared at him.

“Not all of them!” Stiles waved a random hand and only Allison’s trained reflexes prevented a terrible juice box incident.

“Whoa! Great catch Ally!”  
“Stiles, focus!” Lydia said firmly.  
“I’m mostly looking at Norse myth, you know, the stuff most closely inspired by A...S...G...”

“Stiles,” Danny sighed “we’re in the cafeteria of a high school. If the people around us are incapable of spelling then the education system of California has even more problems than they know”  
“I just want to figure out what’s real and what’s hooey!”  
“How many books?” Lydia sighed.  
“I counted twenty seven” Isaac offered.  
“Web pages?”  
“There were at least fifty on the scroll bar”

“Stiles! You know the rules. You can’t open more than thirty pages at a time unless someone is with you.” Lydia had a look of exasperation on her face.   
Stiles was kind of hoping it was ‘fond exasperation’, but he was never that lucky.

“I wasn’t alone... well, not mostly. Peter was there, and Isaac, and later Derek!”  
“And they helped you research?”  
“No, we mostly hugged” Isaac carefully selected his favourite Tater-Tot from those available and ate it.

“Has anyone seen the murder twins today?” Jackson changed the topic because... weird... “They weren’t in Business Math this morning.”

“They made it to Biology” Scott spoke through a mouthful of pasta and received a smack from Allison for doing so.   
Isaac nodded, although no one was entirely sure if he was confirming the sighting or approving the smack.

“It was weird” Scott continued, after swallowing, “They had a note from Ms Morrell so they weren’t in trouble, but they just kept staring at me and Isaac. Not like yesterday when it was all ‘grr, I’m gonna rip you up’ but like they were terrified of us”

Stiles smiled a little and stole several of Isaac’s remaining tots.  
Isaac raised a brow eloquently but allowed it, even pushing his sachet of ketchup closer.  
Jackson, watching this interaction just shook his head.   
Everyone was getting on so well... he hadn’t even felt the need to insult Stiles for days.   
Maybe it was catching?

“So you’re trying to work out what to expect when your lineage is revealed are you Stiles?”

“Coach Finstock says the twins wanted off the Lacrosse team, he laughed at them till they changed their minds” Scott was regaling Danny with the latest gossip as they swapped the black olives from Scott’s salad for the cherry tomatoes Danny hated in his.

“If I’m related to Loki or Thor or any of them, I need to know what is myth and what is relatively truthful. In some of the myths for example Loki has five or six kids hidden all around the multiverse, in others he has none. If one of my cousins is a snake big enough to wrap itself around the entire planet, I’d like a chance to prepare for that reunion”  
“They won’t try anything on the field anyway” Danny said “Too many witnesses”

“Do you think the Fenrir myth is accurate?”  
“They creep me out”

“It’s the most repeated, but it still doesn’t mean he’s real, or if he is, he might not be an actual biological child of Loki”  
“The gay one is cute, but his brother is creepy, I give you that Scott”  
“I’m sort of hoping that it isn’t true, because if it is, then Odin is a douchebag of epic proportions!”  
“Danny, aren’t they identical twins?” Jackson joined that conversation against his better judgement.

“I think the Odin of most of the mythology may be a conflation of several figures, so maybe he’s not as bad as he’s painted?” Lydia ventured.  
“They’re not that identical Jax, and the gay one is cute”  
“Well if he tries that shit with me I’ll be having words”  
“One of them is gay? How the hell... no... I don’t want to know”  
“Stiles you can’t threaten a super-powered, practically immortal alien king. It’s just not wise”  
“Hands up who thinks the gay twin is cute”

Stiles, Allison, Isaac, Lydia and Danny responded to Danny’s request.

“Wait” Stiles said, “Just checking. Stomach wound is the gay one, right?”  
“Yes Stiles” Lydia rolled her eyes.

Allison watched as Stiles stole Isaac’s last tot and she picked up her cookie, split it in half and gave a piece each to Scott and Isaac.   
Jackson watched Lydia finish her coffee and passed her the second cup he had ordered for her earlier.

“Mr Stilinski?”

The voice of Marin Morrell from so close almost caused Stiles to enter flail mode, but instead the entire table of teens snapped their heads to focus on her in one seemingly rehearsed movement.

“Whoa! That was totally a Children of the Corn move!”  
“Stiles! Focus!”  
“Sorry my Queen. Ms Morrell, what can we help you with this afternoon?”

Marin flicked her gaze across the assembled youths before her.   
She had severely underestimated them, now she had to find a new balance.

“About the offer you made yesterday Mr Stilinski...”


	9. In Case of Abduction: Break Glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and the others plan and deduce things (well, technically its ABDUCTION, not DEDUCTION)  
> Stiles suggests that he still feels inferior to the others in the attractiveness stakes  
> Danny almost lets slip a BIG secret  
> Jackson wants to vomit (but not as much as Scott)  
> Lydia wants to die (a little)  
> Dr Simmons worries about chest-bursters and acidic blood (not really)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Jackson tries so hard to be a douche, but he keeps doing nice things  
> Reviews and Comments really do make me write faster!   
> Look! I have an estimated LENGTH now! (but please don't think it's set in stone)  
> Chocolate HobNobs are amazing! I got seriously addicted to them and other 'Digestive" type biscuits when I lived in the UK for a while.  
> (For US readers, biscuit min this instance is a cookie, digestives are a sort of malty flavoured, dryish, wholewheat with not a lot of sugar in it (perfect foil for chocolate!)

“So she can’t help us at all?” Peter grumbled “Are you sure we can’t just kill her?”

Chris stared flatly at Peter.

“I’d make it fast and painless, because she’s Deaton’s sister.”

Stiles was trying really hard not to giggle.   
Derek’s ‘be silent or die’ glare wasn’t helping his cause.   
Isaac was staring at the confrontation as if he wanted to bolt from the room and Scott was... sigh...   
Scott was eating another taco.

“Scott, chew at least once, please!” Allison chimed out from where she was poring over the map of the bank with her father and Derek. She hadn’t even turned to look.  
“Marin is limited by the vows she took” Deaton sighed “She’s already helping us more than I thought she would be able to. Deucalion seems to have been lax in the wording of the promises he bound her with”  
“He’s probably planning on betraying her sooner rather than later” Stiles grumbled “He seemed like the type”

Everyone stopped their respective conversations and turned to the chair the teen was bouncing on.

“What?” Stiles blinked as the eyes all focused on him.  
“When did you see Deucalion?” Derek hissed, his face paling.  
“I’m ok!” Stiles said, demonstrating his abundantly excellent health by waving his arms around a bit and indicating his torso with emphatic gestures. “He didn’t touch me. Feral-Beryl tried, but I had my Ash ready so...”  
“Kali was there too?” Derek was already trying to scent that the boy was really ok as he wrapped him up in his arms “Where were you? Why were you alone?”  
“Well... remember I had to go to the market to get taco supplies?”  
“Scott! I’m going to kill you!”

“Derek! Derek calm down!”   
Stiles was dangling from one of Derek’s arms as he tried to slow the man’s progress across the room.   
Scott was sitting there with half a taco hanging from his mouth.

“Scott had to go to the bathroom. We waited until we got to the market so that I would be in public, on camera, with lots of witnesses around. I even stood right next to the checkouts instead of actually doing my shopping until Scotty came back. I had my pencil in one hand and a handful of ash in the other. I wasn’t reckless. I was as responsible as I could be! It was either that or no dinner”

Derek was still angry but no longer had a legitimate target.

“What did they say?”  
“The usual, blah blah blah, humans are scum, blah blah, Derek will capitulate, blah blah, True Alphas make me hard, blah blah, why don’t you just all lie down and die? Really... he’s such a cliché”

“What did you say back to him?” John sighed as he thought about how his son would have responded to such an approach.  
“Did you know he’s blind?”  
“Yeah, Gerard did it when he betrayed him during peace talks” Chris sighed.  
“I really hope Gerard is dead” Isaac said quietly “We never did find a body”  
“He’s dead” Stiles said

Everyone was looking at him again.

“What? I didn’t do it!” He gave them all a confused look and looked at Peter.

Everyone looked at Peter now.

“I didn’t do it either” Peter drawled “Stiles and I found a trail a few days ago, while we were waiting in the Preserve for one of his training sessions and followed it”  
“And?” Chris didn’t know what answer he wanted them to give him.  
“He looks like he made it a few days before he finally died” Stiles voice was cold and scary “Probably of thirst. The bugs and maggots said he tasted awful; even the sawfly larvae had given up, and they’ll eat anything!”  
“What did you...?” John asked.  
“Peter killed a bunny for them to eat instead and we transferred them over to it”  
“I meant with Gerard’s body” John was audibly grinding his teeth now.  
“Remember the training session where I had finally mastered fire to the point where I could vaporise steel?” Stiles said. “I’d had practice before I showed you that trick”

Chris and Allison just nodded grimly.

“So back to Deucalion, what did you say to him?”  
“I told him that I was mooning him and felt really bad that he couldn’t see it. Kali tried to say something so I told her that she really needed to stop trying to overcompensate for a lack of confidence by letting her toes do all her talking for her. When she tried to scratch me I shot a handful of ash into the air just near her hand and broke four of her fingers. Oh, then I shoved her butt first into Deucalion’s hand and told him to imagine it was me and not a skanky overused breeding bitch. Then Scotty got back and we started our shop. They were following us, but I trapped them in an ash circle next to the adult diapers and conjured a little puddle under them and on Duke’s pants.”  
“Then he called out ‘embarrassing cleanup in aisle 3’ and we went to pay for our stuff” Scott giggled.

John pinched his forehead in the traditional gesture.

“Was it wise to provoke the Alpha Werewolf Stiles?” Chris asked  
“You mean the Alpha who has already publicly vowed to ensure the painful deaths of me and my friends and family? Was it wise to provoke him? I don’t know. What might happen if I make him mad with me? He might decide to not carry out his plot!”  
“He’s unpredictable and dangerous Stiles” Peter sighed.  
“So am I”  
“Just be careful, please?” his Dad asked.  
“Hey, at least I didn’t actually moon him!”  
“Let’s focus on the planning shall we?” Chris changed the subject.

“We have to get them out before Saturday” Stiles nodded, “Danny and I have been quizzing Yoda here on that stuff the bank is made of, and we need to have Erica and Boyd somewhere secure and lock them down before the full moon hits.”  
“How bad are we talking here?” John asked “Do you think we’ll need Melissa or Deaton on standby?”  
“It’s been two months since they last felt the moon’s full effect, so they’ll both be feral.” Derek growled “So will this third wolf Marin told us about. I wish she could tell us more than that it exists though. Why would she make such stringent vows Deaton?”  
“We often make vows when we become Emissaries; it helps us to make decisions when time is critical. Certain paths are closed to you dependant on the vows you have made. I suspect it was a combination of Deucalion being paranoid and Marin trying to be clever. The more vows you make, the greater the chances one of your promises will cancel out another”  
“She was able to say that the stranger ‘was known’ to some of us, and that their presence was designed to both hinder and shock, so we might be able to work it out. You could see she wanted to say more, but her voice just couldn’t cooperate.” Peter said.  
“Scott’s sperm-donor hasn’t been kidnapped has he Dad?” Stiles asked. Scott almost spat out his current taco.

“No Stiles”  
“So it’s Derek that’s the target of the stranger then”  
“How do you figure that Stiles?” Chris Argent was genuinely curious as to how the boy thought; it was always a lesson in random connections.  
“Duke doesn’t care about any of the rest of us, except as leverage against Scott, his potential Special Snowflake of Awesome Cuddly Niceness and Derek, his Hale Alpha and scion of the lineage he was always jealous of. Tell me I’m wrong Uncle Creeper”  
“You don’t tell no lies” Peter drawled.

“Scott has limited people to use against him. His mom is guarded pretty damn well since Chris assigned her those ‘candy stripers’; his Dad is in the FBI and we’d have heard if anything had happened to his grandma or her other family. That leaves Derek. Duke’s got something up his sleeve, I just know he does.”  
“Stiles, let’s face it” Derek sighed “I have even fewer people to use against me than Scott does. Pretty much the only people I really care about are in the pack, and the one person I would willingly die for is in this room.”  
“You say the sweetest things Hale” Chris dead-panned.

Derek snorted a chuckle and even as he did his mind was almost bursting with the incongruity of his action.   
He was actually starting to like the brother of the woman who had murdered his entire...

“Your family” Stiles said suddenly “That’s it! It has to be it. He’s found a Hale somewhere and he’s going to use them to force you to kill the rest of us. Actually, no, since he’s had him or her under the bank for as long as he has had Erica and Boyd he’s intending for you to be forced to kill all of them to protect the town. Nothing would break you as much as realising that the wolf you just put down was actually someone who avoided or survived the fire.”  
“No one survived the fire Stiles” Peter growled as Derek just went pale and looked sad.  
“You did” Stiles poked verbally “Derek did. Laura did. Maybe all of you were wounded in different ways, but you all survived. Why couldn’t someone else? I’ve read the files... don’t start Dad, you left them laying around”

“Where?”  
“Ok, maybe not laying around, but really Dad, a six character password? Even I could crack that without needing Danny. You were practically asking me to look.”  
The Sherriff just stared at his son.  
“Or not... I may have misinterpreted that. Anyway, the reports said they found the remains of ‘an estimated seven or eight individuals’. The fire burned hot, so most of the bones were destroyed or shattered to fragments too small to reconstruct. If someone got out...”  
“No one could get out Stiles, they had a ring of Mountain Ash around the whole house and the fire burned too fast for the humans among us to survive leaving the cellar” Peter was not angry, just upset.

“They found you near a broken window Peter, why?” Stiles asked.  
“I must have been trying to get out, smashed it with something”  
“I looked at the pictures, and the list of evidence. The picture of that window showed something odd. There wasn’t enough glass”  
“What do you mean son?” John was drawn to this observation for some reason.  
“It was a bathroom window, so it was small, about 2 feet by 3 feet. All the glass was found on the outside, which corroborates Peter’s supposition of what he was doing. It’s what the first responders thought too. They actually broke the ash line when they dragged Peter across it through the window”  
“But I thought...”  
“An unconscious wolf isn’t a wolf anymore, they’re an object and they can be carried or thrown across an ash line” Chris muttered.

“If you go look at the pictures, there’s not enough glass there. What is on the ground would barely cover half the missing glass. I think Peter grabbed someone, maybe one of the kids, and wrapped them in damp blankets and threw their unconscious body through the window. It was right near the slope down to the lake. Very heavily wooded, and if he threw them hard enough, they’d roll right down the hill and out of sight, carrying most of the broken glass in the blanket they were wrapped in.”  
“But why wouldn’t they come looking for help afterwards?” John asked.  
“Would you?” Stiles countered “Your whole family is probably dead; you’re old enough to understand about wolves and hunters, but you’ve never really bothered to pay attention to who is what and where to go in an emergency. So you sneak away. Far away and figure out a way to survive. Laura and Derek never made a huge noise about leaving. Hell, there are probably a few people in Beacon Hills who still think that all the Hales died in that fire. Peter was catatonic for years. Why would a survivor think to come back? The question is, who is it? Also, how did Deucalion find out about them?”  
“Peter’s kidnapping!” Chris said suddenly.  
“What?” Peter asked

“When you went kill-happy and disappeared.” Stiles nodded “By which I mean, ‘died’ of course. It was in a few of the papers when they found the ‘miraculously cured’ Peter Hale not only alive but back in control of his own mind and body. I bet the story got syndicated somewhere. Whoever this survivor is they saw the name Hale and read the story. Uncle Peter is alive! I must find him! That article talked about Derek too didn’t it? Maybe Deucalion nabbed them as they got close to town? The Alphas have been here for weeks remember.”  
“What should we do?” Derek sounded almost lost.  
“You and Peter have your big freak out now, here, where we can care for you both. That way, if it turns out I’m right, which I almost always am, you’ll be able to focus on the fighting and the rescuing rather than the ‘oh my God it’s YOU!’ moment. We’ll take a couple of hours now then reconvene to discuss Bitchface Blake and her plan of doom.”  
“Stiles I...” Derek was looking unwell.

“Dad, your teenage son is taking his 23 year old boyfriend and his 35 year old Uncle upstairs to lie in bed with them; you have ten seconds to object... Good! Ally? You, Big Nerd and Mr Scarfleupagus can join us if you wish, or attempt to form your own breakaway cuddle. I would warn you though that Chris is way more likely to allow Scott and Isaac to snuggle with his daughter if you have chaperones, even if I’m one of them”

Chris just smirked and shook his head ruefully.

“Chris, you and Dad may also join us, or if you intend to snuggle together on your own, that is ok as long as I don’t ever have to see it or talk about it.”

Chris stopped smirking and goggled a bit.

“Peter, Derek, I demand my snuggles! Bed me please!”

Peter just stood there in shock until Derek sighed and carried Stiles up the stairs. A few seconds later Allison and Isaac were dragging Peter behind them as Scott made a cursory attempt to tidy up dinner and then raced to join them.

John looked over to Chris.

“I could do the dishes and then we could snuggle...?” John said with a smirk. “You can be big spoon...”  
“Or... I could help you and then we could watch the Yankees game over a drink?”

“I’ll dry”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.

 

“I swear, if I didn’t know Marin and Deaton were related I’d know they were related!” Stiles was tired, grumpy and missing his boo.

“Stiles, what did you get for number 4?” Lydia asked frowning at her book as she checked answers with one hand and doodled in a blank pad with the other.  
“At least we know we’re fighting a Dalek” Isaac said brightly.  
“Either ‘Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate’ or “Belgium’. Which homework are you checking?”  
“Darach Isaac! Daleks are those robot things from that British show Stiles makes us watch” Scott was frowning “What does that mean, Belgium?”  
“I’m rechecking the Calculus worksheet of course, and yes Scott, Belgium is one of the two correct answers in the Economics homework.”

“Oh, sorry Lyds, hang on...” Stiles flicked open yet another book and scanned the page “I wish we’d known before five people had been killed that we had an evil Druid Witch Ritualist Necromancer on the loose... Ah! Four was nine Lydia.”  
“Oh, the evil plumbers!” Isaac was checking his Chemistry homework with a frown. “I know we’re in a different class to you guys but...”  
“Nitro-glycerine is also a viable answer sweetie” Allison patted him on the cheek. “For us normal brains and Scott, you got the Economics right too! Most people will have put Mali down as well.”  
“I’m glad she’s finished with the virgins anyway” Stiles muttered.

“Feeling threatened Stilinski?” Jackson snarked as he entered the room with a tray of coffees.

“Derek and I will not be rushed by some crazy Evil Power bent on sacrifice. We’re taking our time for a reason you know.”  
“Is the reason that you’re too scared to bottom and too small to top?”

Danny choked on his drink and everyone stared at him.

“What?” he blinked.  
“Spill Danny” Lydia commanded, “And Jackson, don’t be mean”  
“None of you have ever peeked in the locker room have you?” Danny asked, blushing slightly.  
“Of course not!” Scott was offended, while Isaac just looked confused, then intrigued and Jackson bristled.

“I don’t need to check out the competition, because none of them could compete”  
“Damn” Isaac sighed, “I was always too scared I’d get caught, I missed out huh?”

Scott was confused now, while Allison and Lydia were staring at Stiles who was gradually turning bright red.

“Everyone knows I check them out” Danny said.  
“Really?” Allison asked, “How do they know? And they’re not offended?”  
“They usually know because Danny is really subtle” Jackson grinned “Any new guys or visitors from other schools just get told ‘I’m just checking you out, not threatening you, go about your business’ and they just seem to roll with it”  
“I told you everyone loves Danny!” Lydia grinned at her friend.  
“Wait, let’s get back to Stiles’ junk” Isaac said.  
“Let’s not?” Stiles was definitely red now.  
“Let’s not” Danny said, taking pity on him.

When Stiles bent down to check the answer in the back of one of his textbooks Danny made appropriate gestures with his hands leading to looks of amazement or envy from Allison and Isaac, a frown from Jackson and a wistful sigh from Lydia.

“What?” Stiles asked shooting upright again.  
“Jackson forgot my extra shot of Hazelnut is all”

“How many victims have been killed so far?” Danny got things back on track before Stiles got mad at him.  
“Five. The first three were Virgins. Deaton speculates that the Darach will be using the power raised to hide his or her (even though we all know it has to be Jennifer Blake) appearance and possibly to influence the minds of those around HER.”  
“We have no proof that it’s Ms Blake” Lydia said firmly “When we do we can act. She might just be a vampire or a run of the mill minor demon or something. There are other things around you know”  
“She’s the only new teacher!”  
“No, Dr Simmons is new” Danny pointed out.  
“Dr Simmons is a supply teacher” Stiles said firmly “She didn’t get here until after the murders happened”  
“We don’t know that for sure” Lydia said calmly “Although I admit I really can’t see her as an evil spell-caster draining her victims for their life energy”

“I’ve got a quiet night planned” Danny offered “After I’ve finished my homework I might see if there’s any interesting information on either of them, but not hacking into any major databases of course, because that would be illegal”  
“Just like we somehow managed to all get the same study hall period free huh Danny?” Stiles grinned at him. “I just wish they’d let us leave now, since it’s last period”  
“Back to the killings, what are the latest ones?” Scott said, bored with his Spanish Literature essay already.  
“I’m trying to see a connection” Stiles said “So far the first one was an elderly retired cruise boat captain and the second one was an accountant.”

Stiles seemed sadder than expected for some reason.

“What’s wrong buddy?” Scott was definitely improving in the ‘noticing Stiles’ area.  
“The second victim, I knew him. We all did actually”

Danny took the sheet Stiles had been making notes on and scanned it.

“Paul Verhoeven? That actually does ring a vague... Oh my God! Vetta?”  
“Who the hell is Vetta?” Jackson asked.  
“Vetta Raine was one of the drags who adopted Stiles when we went to Jungle that time” Danny sighed sadly “She was one classy Queen”  
“Could it be their sexuality that makes them a target?” Allison asked.  
“No, Captain Ahab was a widower of sixty four years of marriage with 9 kids and 35 grandkids” Stiles pouted. “Krystelle and the girls are organising something for the weekend after next as a tribute to Vetta. I said I’m going already, but it would mean a lot to them if you guys showed your support too.”  
“You kept in touch?” Isaac asked.  
“Of course!” Stiles responded “They were really nice to me, and funny as all hell!”

“Plus you have no idea how much you owe them Stiles” Danny said.  
“What? Who? Why?”  
“Remember you complaining about no one at Jungle hitting on you?”  
“Yeah, I assumed I was just too skinny for anyone to waste their time on”  
“Well if the girls hadn’t adopted you as you came through that door, and warned off all the usual suspects, you might have wound up in a situation that you just weren’t ready for”  
“Really? I doubt it” Stiles looked confused “I mean, Derek loves me for me, not because I’m sexy or anything.”

Everyone stared at him again.

“Ok, I’ve had it with this stupidity Stilinski!” Jackson growled “Listen up. Even me, in my crazy straight jacketed consciousness as the Kanima could see that at least half the bar that night wanted to jump you. Danny was dancing shirtless Stiles, sweaty and shirtless! You were wearing loose jeans and the most hideous hoodie known to mankind and at least half the guys in that bar sprang to full attention from just one look at you and your pert little nose and your perfect fucking skin. I could smell them! It made me want to vomit. You know I don’t care if your feelings are hurt, so I’m just telling it like it is. Yes, you’re not as buff as some of us, or as tanned or as athletic. And maybe in a shirtless calendar shoot you’d be asked to make the coffees, but people LIKE you Stiles. They laugh at your jokes, they care about your feelings and you may not have huge bulging muscles like your boyfriend, but if you think that Derek doesn’t think you are the hottest thing to ever slip on a pair of briefs then you really need to borrow a wolf’s nose one time when you’re biting your damned lip or stretching after reading too long. I’m still not sure how Derek can walk at all in his pants if he’s around you so much.”

“O...K...?”

“He’s right Stiles” Lydia patted him on the head “You really are sexy. I never responded to your ridiculous crush on me because I could tell that we’d murder each other if we were in a relationship other than as friends. But that doesn’t mean that sometimes I didn’t wonder if it wouldn’t be a fun way to go”

“Tell Krystelle we’ll be there Stiles” Scott said “And can we please stop talking about this now?”  
“OK” Stiles sighed “The worst part is, according to Dad Vetta was probably not the intended victim”  
“Really?” Lydia was intrigued “Maybe this is a break? Does he know who was?”  
“Vetta, well, as Paul he was part of a support group for returned Veterans who had problems with PTSD and the like; although he hasn’t been active in the group for a few months now. The guy who was rostered on to take care of the hall the group uses for their meetings is off in San Francisco seeing a therapist or something so Paul said he’d clean up and relock the place after their meeting the other night. Dad thinks it was...”  
“Stiles?” Lydia asked as he stopped talking suddenly.  
“Danny, check the history of the Cruise Boat guy”

Danny clicked for a few seconds then scanned the resulting pages.

“Cyrus Bernstein, born April 3rd 1934 in Maine, moved to California in 1941, decorated naval war hero from Korea, retired from Klondike Cruise Lines after 34 years of service...”  
“Veterans!” Lydia exclaimed.  
“Warriors!” Stiles said “Allison, that book your dad lent us, is it here on in your locker?”

Allison reached into her bag and withdrew a large hand bound tome.

“I saw something in here last night...” Stiles was flicking the pages as fast as he dared “Found it! The five-fold knot!” 

Lydia and Allison read over his shoulder, all three going pale as they did.

“So... Philosophers, Healers and Guardians still to come?” Allison sighed.  
“Philosophers?” Scott asked, puzzled.  
“Teachers Scott, teachers!” Stiles snapped. “Grade school, high school, university lecturers, aerobics instructors, senior tutors... the list is huge”  
“Stiles... Healers could mean my mom!”  
“Or Deaton even, and Guardians...”  
“My Dad!” Allison gasped “We protect those who cannot protect themselves!”  
“Or my Dad” Stiles was shivering “Protect and Serve remember?”  
“It could mean any parent really” Isaac said sadly.

There was a knock at the door. It was Dr Simmons.

“Hi guys! Sorry to interrupt but has anyone here seen Mr Schofield, the Music Teacher?”  
“No, sorry” Danny said “He was missing during Band Practice at lunchtime too”  
“Oh well, if you see him, ask him to call the Principal would you” she smiled at them.

Stiles suddenly stiffened and moaned, looking slightly nauseous. 

“It’s shifting again” he muttered  
“Sorry Stiles?” Dr Simmons came closer “Are you alright?”  
“He’s been gorging on gummy worms!” Jackson rolled his eyes and jiggled Stiles’ belly slightly “We’ve been teasing him about him recreating the scene from Alien all afternoon”

Stiles came back to himself in time to realise what Jackson was doing and played along.

“Jackson, stop doing that! If I do throw up I will make sure it’s all over your fancy shoes!”

“Well, you need to be careful what you eat Stiles!” Gemma grinned at him “Although I have been known to go a little mad over a packet of Chocolate Digestives so I really can’t talk!”

Everyone looked puzzled at this except for... well, actually, only Scott looked puzzled, the rest knew about English Cookies.

“I’d better go and tell the ROTC corps that they’ll have to cancel drills for this afternoon.” She was turning to leave when she spotted the pad Lydia had thrown over the book to hide it.  
“Oh my goodness, is that... oh, no, sorry Lydia, I thought it might have been an excellent map of a neural ganglia but it’s not. It’s amazingly detailed though. When it’s finished you must tell me what sort of tree it is!”

She left the room and everyone stared at Lydia’s page. It was filled with the same drawing over and over again.  
Stiles was still feeling woozy.

“I think he’s being killed right now guys!” he moaned as the world shuddered underneath him.

Lydia was getting paler and paler too, and then she buried her face in the sweater she had taken off earlier and screamed.

Really, really screamed.


	10. Time To Talk About The Bats The Bees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and Chris have a plan  
> Jackson has a secret  
> Scott has a breakthrough  
> Peter has an inner monologue  
> Derek has an Alpha  
> Lydia has a driver's licence  
> The murder twins have a moment to choose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of violence, but nothing graphic - I suck at that sort of thing anyway, use your own inner movie maker  
> Sorry about the erratic updates - my health is not the best at the moment, and while that gives me TIME to write, it also takes away my ability to concentrate long enough to write it.  
> Comments etc are like Chicken Soup for the soul

“Please Stiles, I can’t take this anymore. I need to go bleach my brain!”

Stiles kept kissing Derek and indicated to Scott his full thinking on the matter through the marvellous method of body language.   
(He flipped him the bird)

“When I said we should make any last minute preparations this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind” Chris Argent was trying hard not to laugh at Scott’s face. “And Scott, I’ve seen way worse from you and Allison, and I’m her FATHER. You’d have thought the one thing any teenager with a sense of self preservation would want to do is avoid excessive PDAs in front of his girlfriend’s dad”  
“They haven’t even come up for air in over five minutes!” Jackson was not as traumatised as Scott, partly because he just didn’t think of Stiles as a brother, and mostly because he was far more comfortable with the sight of two guys kissing than Scott could admit to himself. 

“Stiles is probably photosynthesising again” Lydia’s voice came over their earphones. “If you turn the lights off he’ll be forced to stop eventually”  
“No fair Lydia!” Stiles whined “and Scott, just suck it up like a big wolf”  
“Please tell me someone has it on video?” Danny’s voice echoed in their ears.  
“Isaac and I are in position Dad” Allison reported in “Sorry it took so long, we had to do it silently”  
“John?” Chris said quietly into the microphone at his throat.

“I’m in my office” the Sherriff replied “It’s a quiet night so far, thank goodness. I’ve got a couple of patrols near enough to your location to respond in about 5 minutes if I call them in but far enough away that they shouldn’t hear anything untoward. Well, so long as my son doesn’t blow up a gas main or something.”  
“It was ONE propane bottle and I apologised Dad!” Stiles pouted, his well used lips making the gesture even more pronounced than usual. “Plus I absorbed the whole blast so, hey, we learned I could do that!”  
“Lydia and I are in position too” Danny said over the communicators, “Melissa and Deaton are here already”  
“Where’s Peter?” Derek asked.

“On my way to you” Peter was also online already “I waited until Danny and Lydia were safe with the Druid before I left their side. For some reason I feel like I want to keep them around. I must be getting soft”  
“I still think I should be with Lydia” Jackson grumbled.  
“You know why you’re here Jackass” Stiles sighed “speaking of which, Chris, here’s the stuff”

Stiles handed over a small vial of clear liquid.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us you could still make Kanima venom!” Scott said to an embarrassed Jackson. “Even if it is just a few drops per day”  
“Remember Jackson, save the venom on your claws or bite for emergencies” Derek instructed his beta carefully “You’ve only got a few attempts before it’s all gone”  
“I’ve got a handful of special arrows set up with venom on them” Allison said “They have green fletching, so try not to touch them if I miss”  
Stiles snorted.  
“Miss? As if. Hawkeye has nothing on you Ally!”  
“Make sure Stiles has nothing sharp or pointy on him before you go in” Sherriff Stilinski chimed in.  
“Except my pencils”  
“Stiles, I’d be a lot more comfortable if...”

“Shut it Derek. I’m not asking you to stay behind in safety am I? Just concentrate on the plan and we’ll be fine. Remember, I’m a lot less vulnerable than I used to be, and Deucalion and his cronies don’t know that. I’ll be fine”  
“Scott and Jackson will be protecting Stiles and me” Chris finished anointing his knives with Kanima venom. “And Peter has your back. Remember that Marin is there, and the twins. They will be trying to avoid hurting us, but if given a direct order by Ennis they have to obey it, so be careful. So long as we work together we’ll be ok”  
“When things go wrong, make sure you listen to Stiles” Derek rumbled “And things will go wrong”  
“No plan ever survives contact with the enemy” Stiles chirped.

“Stiles is the quickest at thinking on his feet, so listen to his orders and remember where we’re supposed to rendezvous” Chris added as he finished tightening the silk and Kevlar body armour around Stiles. “Jackson, you’re on Erica; Scott is on Boyd and Peter is on the unknown wolf. Once Stiles has neutralised the twins, grab your targets and begin the retreat. Our mission is a quick in and out, not to fight the Alphas. If you get in trouble, speak up. Once we’re on the streets, head for Lydia. Allison will be covering you from above and Danny will be using the street cameras to plot enemy movement, so remember to listen for him.”

Chris’ quiet confidence and precision seemed to calm everyone’s nerves.

“Full moon is tomorrow, but if they are conscious, we might have problems with them anyway. Stiles will be prepared to put them out if they’re struggling.”  
“No one is being left behind” Derek said finally “I’m last out, and I won’t be leaving until everyone else is back in the tunnel”  
“I have eyes on Deucalion and Kali” Danny interrupted, “They’re getting dinner like we expected. They’re at least 10 minutes away even at full Alpha run, so we’re set”  
“Still no sign of Ennis?” Peter asked.  
“No, he must be inside”  
“We’ll deal with him if he is” Stiles said calmly “No more talking, let’s go”

They went,  
The plan lasted longer than any of them had thought it would.

After punching through the wall of the vault Derek and Peter had entered first with Chris and Stiles close behind. Ash flew from Stiles’ fingers trapping the Alpha Twins as they ‘froze’ for a few vital seconds before reacting. Marin grabbed a handful of ash to retaliate against the incoming wolves but ‘tripped’ and dropped it.  
Ennis, however, did not hesitate. With a dramatic roar the huge man went into his beta shift and threw a huge clawed hand out to slash Scott’s throat as he ran past him to where three crumpled figures could be seen on the floor of the room. Chris threw one of his envenomed daggers which only just missed, but it did force Ennis to move his hand out of the path of Scott.  
Jackson moved like lightning and scooted past Ennis on the other side while Derek squared up to him. Peter hung back a little, as Derek began to force Ennis to follow his movement, exposing the part of the room where the prisoners were being kept. Peter slowly shifted towards the third figure, who was covered by a blanket. Stiles stood by Peter’s side, his eyes bright and wide.   
For once he was not talking.

“Marin! Trap them in the other vault!” Ennis roared. Stiles winced.

Peter swore as the barrier went up before he could step back.   
That left Derek, Chris and Stiles alone to deal with Ennis.   
He decided to have faith in his nephew and Stiles and just focus on the plan.

“Scott! Snap out of it and grab Boyd!”

As Peter lifted the crumpled figure of the third wolf his nose and his eyes told him who it was, but he made no sound and made sure the blanket covered her.   
Derek needed to concentrate.

“Wow, and I thought I’d seen ugly wolves. Ennis my man, congratulations! You are definitely my new image for when I want to prolong my happy Stiles times”

Ah, Peter thought, the silence was too good to last.

“Aiden! Ethan! Stop being idiots and combine forms! Break out of that barrier and kill the humans!”

Damn, Peter thought, and I thought Ennis was too dumb to think of that. I wonder what he means by...

“Oh now that is just wrong!” Stiles sounded seconds away from barfing. “Chris, neutralise the witch!”  
“Marin! Catch!” Chris shouted as he threw a small device into her personal space. It exploded with a loud pop and silver dust covered the woman who dropped unconscious.  
“Stiles! Chris! We need you to break the barrier!” Scott called as the three wolves, each carrying their unconscious burden, strained against the invisible wall.  
“Just a little busy Scotty!” Stiles shouted as he dodged a swinging claw from Ennis. Derek roared and grappled with the Alpha. Chris was barely able to fend off the huge combined form of the twins.

Scott was in a panic, and he just kept pushing and pushing at the barrier.   
His mind filled with his love for all of the people depending on him, even Peter, and how important it was that they leave before Deucalion and Kali could return.   
No one noticed his eyes flashing from yellow to his human brown to...

With a roar his eyes glowed a deep, burning red and the barrier shattered. 

The sound caused everyone to flinch slightly, and Chris cursed himself as he froze for just a split second too long to avoid the sweep of a huge clawed hand from the twins.   
The form of the combined twins noticed that Ennis was focussed on Derek at that moment, and managed at the last second to turn their hand so as to hit Chris with the back of their fist instead of the claws.  
Mr Argent coughed as he felt the hand sink deep into his stomach and in seconds he found himself flying across the room and into the wall next to the hole they had entered by.

“Get out!” Scott shouted as he carried Boyd’s body to the exit point, closely followed by Peter and Jackson.  
“Traitors!” Ennis screamed “I saw that! You will die too!”

The twins cursed mentally as they realised Ennis had seen through their subterfuge.

“Everyone out!” Stiles shouted “Twins, you too! Jackson, take Chris if you can!”

Chris tried to wave off the assistance, but since he could barely breathe let alone run, Jackson ignored him.

Stiles threw a huge blast of wind at Ennis, blowing him back several feet and allowing him and Derek to get back into the tunnel.   
As soon as Derek was through the hole, Stiles’ ash lined it preventing Ennis from following.

“Derek, get up top, if the twins haven’t already, take Chris from Jackson; he’ll be slowing him down. I’m right behind you”

Derek just nodded curtly and obeyed.   
As the wolves left the building from which they had tunnelled they heard Danny’s voice over their headsets.

“Duke and Kali are on their way, and fast. Get to safety guys! They’re coming from the south so head for Pine Street. Lydia is on her way.”

“Hey, Ennis! This is for my friends!”   
A huge lightning bolt ran down his arm, leaping from his fingers and into the snarling form on the other side of the barrier. Ennis dropped, twitching.

By the time Stiles got to the street things had improved.   
Aiden and Ethan were no longer in their freaky giant Alpha form, and had taken Boyd from Scott so that he could take Chris.   
Derek was waiting for Stiles with an anxious look on his face.   
As the group ran for the rendezvous they could hear tyres screeching.   
A police van screamed to a halt in front of them and they saw a white knuckled Lydia at the wheel.

“Get in!”

They got in. 

Lydia’s driving, Stiles decided, was probably scarier than Ennis had been.   
It had been a wise choice to let her be the getaway driver; she was both highly skilled and utterly insane.

Allison and Isaac, now their role as aerial snipers was not required, followed Stiles’ plan.   
Clinging like a limpet to Isaac’s back, Allison’s only regret was that she wasn’t allowed to whoop with enjoyment as the tall curly haired youth leapt from rooftop to rooftop at unimaginable speed before dropping down more than 5 blocks away where Lydia was waiting for them.  
Stiles was grinning like a maniac. 

“And that people, is what happens when you actually LISTEN to me for a change!” 

He was going to make them remember this moment for years.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
“I’m going to kill them. I’m going to kill them, slowly. Werewolf healing will be a curse by the time I finally let those bastards die.”

The Sherriff shuddered at the coldness in his son’s voice.

Boyd was still sitting beside the Stilinski’s dining room table, his face impassive as Deaton and Melissa continued to work on Erica’s wounds.   
Even after twelve hours his own wounds were still visible, although much improved on how he had been immediately after the rescue.  
Jackson sat beside him, drawing as much pain as he could from him without compromising his faltering healing factor. 

It had surprised everyone but Danny and Lydia to discover that Jackson had become so adept at relieving the pain of others.   
He was even stronger at it than Derek, who should have had an advantage with being an Alpha.   
Jackson hadn’t said anything, but Stiles had been able to read his face and had seen the quiet sense of true self worth the discovery had engendered in the normally cocky boy.

Boyd had been the first to regain consciousness, just as the sun was rising.   
Derek and Stiles had seemed to anticipate his waking by a few seconds and had rushed to be on either side of him as he opened his eyes.   
As Boyd had drawn breath to speak Derek had simply said ‘Erica is safe and you are safe. We’ve brought you home’. Boyd had relaxed and allowed Derek and Stiles to hold him.

Erica was still unconscious, which Deaton said might be a good thing since her pain would be intense.   
It seemed that the Alphas had taken extra pleasure in trying to break the spirit of the feisty she-wolf.   
Stiles had not been impressed.   
Boyd had been wary of the twins at first, but as he grew more aware he had recounted how they had been forced to ‘share’ in the ‘play time’ Ennis and Kali had devised for the prisoners, but had always concentrated on attacks that looked vicious but did little damage. 

“Scalp wounds bleed the most, and neither Ennis nor Kali really cared so long as we looked like we were enjoying torturing someone” Aiden had said.   
Ethan had looked more upset than his brother, but even Stiles had to admit that neither twin looked happy at the memory of their acts.

It was the third wolf that had been the shock.   
Derek had almost fainted when Deaton had removed the covering to examine her wounds and her face had been revealed.

“Cora!”

When she had awoken, about an hour after Boyd, she had been sullen and defensive.   
Derek and Peter had been trying to connect with her, but she seemed almost as prickly and angry as Derek had been when Stiles had first met him.   
Stiles decided to interfere; it was what he did best.

“So, at what point during the six years or so he was trapped inside his own crippled body unable to move or talk was Peter meant to wake up and tell someone about him rescuing you from the fire?”

Cora’s eyes had flashed gold and she had growled at the boy.

“Or was it Derek who was meant to somehow just know that there was another survivor from the disaster that he still can’t think about without screaming himself awake all the night after?”

Derek tried to say something but Stiles silenced him with a look.

“You’ve got two choices sister: continue to be angry and resentful for things that no one could control and wind up being in the really great position of having a couple of blood relatives that are still alive but who don’t want to ever speak with you or you can let go of the attitude and just acknowledge that there’s been fucking up on all sides but that in the end having someone as part of your life is worth a bit of pain. You choose. But let me tell you this; Derek has been hurt and betrayed by more than enough people already. If you hurt him then I don’t care if it means I’m killing one of the only living members of the Hale family he has left. I’d let him hate me for eternity before I let him feel any more pain than he already has.”

Cora stared at the skinny human boy for a very long time before she finally just nodded to him. A few minutes later she was in Peter and Derek’s arms and all three were sobbing gently.

“When did you learn to bluff a werewolf so well?” Melissa asked as she continued to help Deaton with Erica.

Stiles just smiled slightly and said he was going outside to weed his mom’s herb bed.

“He wasn’t bluffing” Chris Argent said softly from his position on the sofa. “Derek is an Alpha, and one of the most powerful I’ve ever met. Peter is more than half crazy. Scott is now an Alpha too. Deucalion is a monster. Kali and Ennis are cruel beyond belief. It’s Stiles that I would be most afraid of though. Even without his powers he’s always been the most dangerous”

Melissa shook her head as she tried to comprehend the boy she loved being so scary.

“Why do you think he clings to Scott so much?” Deaton murmured “Scott is a beacon of love and kindness. Stiles uses his friend as a way to balance out the darkness he knows he holds inside. Most of the time he lives his life the way Scott would want him to, but when someone threatens those he loves, he is prepared to do anything to protect them. In many ways he is as pure in his pragmatism as Scott is in his optimism.”

After several more minutes Erica began to stir.   
Boyd and Cora insisted on helping her come to wakefulness as gently as she could.   
Once she realised that she was finally safe, Erica broke down for a few minutes before insisting on seeing ‘her Batman’.   
The healthy wolves and humans helped the three injured to walk out the back to where Stiles was ‘weeding’. 

“We probably need to warn you” Peter said softly “Stiles has been undergoing some pretty radical changes since you last saw him. He’s not the helpless human some always thought him. It turns out he has a very interesting family tree”

Stiles was lying in the middle of the herb bed, wearing only a pair of shorts.   
In the sunlight his lean muscles were more obvious and even Jackson had to admit he looked hot.   
His skin was pale, and Erica swore she was seeing a faint greenish tint to it.   
He was slightly sunken into the loose soil of the bed, but rather than crushing the various herbs and plants it almost looked as though they had moved to give him space to lie down. 

Swarms of bees were busy pollinating the flowering plants in the beds around and several were using parts of Stiles as perches to rest on in between flights.   
Boyd and Cora tensed when they saw a huge rattlesnake slither from under Stiles’ abandoned shirt and across the boy’s legs before it raced across the lawn and into the preserve which abutted the fence.   
Derek murmured to them that the snake was no threat, and neither were the insects.

Melissa was wondering how Stiles could describe having a nap in a garden bed as ‘weeding’ when she saw several plants she could identify as non-useful in a herb bed, wriggling themselves out of the earth and making their way ‘walking’ to an area near the back of the yard.   
Stiles had obviously made a small bed down there, but it didn’t seem to have anything planted in it yet. Instead, the weeds from this bed were walking themselves across to the empty one and replanting themselves. Even as she worked it out, Chris was snorting with amusement.

“Typical Stiles” he chortled “Why do all that hard work when you can just talk the weeds into relocating”

“A weed is just a plant in a place you don’t want it” Stiles said calmly as he opened his eyes. “I’m letting them have the bed down near the fence rather than winding up in the compost. They don’t mind, and some of the thorny ones have promised to trail around the fence a bit to beef up security”

“Careful Batman” Erica whispered “You’ve got bees on you”

Stiles smiled and with an odd sound, pulled up from the loose earth. For a split second, Erica could have sworn there were some sort of tendrils coming from his spine that had been buried in the soil like...   
No...

“Thanks for keeping me company girls” Stiles said cheerfully, “And tell the Old Queen that I’ll have a second hive set up just off the trail on the other side of the lake by tomorrow, ok? She’s not planning to swarm until later in the week right? I didn’t think the Young Queen would be ready till Wednesday anyway.”

The bees buzzed around his head and several seemed to be doing some sort of complicated dance on his arm.

“That’s very generous of both of them” Stiles smiled at his tiny friends “I’ll make sure I bring a jar or two”

The bees flew off.

“Yes, he talks to insects now” Jackson drawled “What’s weirder is, they seem to talk back to him”  
“And reptiles!” Stiles beamed as he reached for his shirt “I thought it might just be snakes, but there was an iguana here before, an escaped pet, who wanted permission to go rat hunting in the toolshed, so I said yeah”

Stiles stepped out of the garden bed and moved to hug Erica as gently as he could.   
As she clung to his lithe frame she watched over his shoulder as the human shaped space in the plants of the herb bed was slowly filled in by the plants moving back to their original spaces.

“Batman” Erica asked him as they reunited “have you been messing around with that slut Poison Ivy while I’ve been gone?”


	11. Did You Know He Could Do That?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles develops new powers  
> Danny does not do illegal things, ever  
> Lydia gets to play with dollies  
> Stiles impresses Jackson  
> Peter needs to die for sheer meanness  
> The excrement may be about to begin colliding with the air-moving device

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes at the end should I hope lead to links for music to read by and a pic to look at (I am so bad at this century, sigh)  
> I've put the links in and also a description if I fail at that, so you can find them yourself)  
> Some of the things mentioned in parts of this are mysterious and enigmatic (mostly because I don't know myself what it's about, that's just how I write, sigh)

In the week since saving the three captives, events in Beacon Hills had not settled down.   
Thankfully the pack had been prepared for the effects of the moon deprivation the Alphas had been inflicting upon Erica, Cora and Boyd.   
The twins weren’t privy to most of the details, but Aiden thought the plan had been to ‘allow’ the three to be rescued sometime during the fourth full moon of their captivity so that all three would be totally feral and uncontrollable.   
The other effect of the moon madness would be the problem of restraining them without harm. Each of the three would have been stronger and more resilient, making it almost impossible to stop them killing everyone they contacted without having to use lethal force.   
It had been a fiendishly cunning trap, foiled only by Stiles’ actions to force all the individual factions associated with the supernatural to work as a team. 

Chris Argent, with decades of personal experience in combat situations and records dating back over centuries which detailed thousands of plans, alliances and battle strategies found himself hard pressed to recall any time when such disparate and fractious forces had bonded together so seamlessly.   
Despite Stiles’ personal powers, which seemed to be growing every day; it was his ability to not only strategise but to bind individuals into a team that made the boy more dangerous than any creature Chris had ever met, or heard of.

In fact, Chris thought ruefully, if the Council asked him to describe the nature of his alliance with the Hale Pack of Beacon Hills, he would have to admit that in many ways, he felt more a part of the pack than not. He and Derek had even begun to snark at each other the way Chris recalled doing with his sister, before she fell under the influence of the madman he used to call ‘Dad’.

Boyd and Erica had been understandably reticent to speak to him after their rescue. He really couldn’t blame them. It had been his basement where Gerard had tortured and almost killed them, and Stiles.   
Chris regretted nothing more than his decision to just let the pair go.   
Despite his discomfort and their unsurprising fear of all things Argent, he should have insisted on making sure they were healed up and contacted Derek himself.   
The fact that he had taken the easy way out haunted him still.   
If he were no better than Kate then...

“Stop brooding grumpy old man, and find the keys to the bottom drawer or I’ll be forced to pick the lock and you’ll be guilty of contributing to the corruption of a minor.”

Oh yes, Stiles and Danny were helping him upload hundreds of pages of Argent Family documents to a secure server for ease of access.

“I’m sure you’d find these particular locks a little harder to pick than your high school locker Stiles”  
“Oh dear,” Danny sighed “Please don’t challenge him. He’s bad enough as it is today.”

Stiles had reached into his hair, which was much longer than his old buzz cut; a testament to how quickly it was growing out; and proceeded to jiggle something metallic in the lock of the filing cabinet’s bottom drawer. His pink tongue stuck out a little as he concentrated and a few seconds later he grinned at Chris and slid the drawer open.  
Chris gaped a little.

“Stiles, that is a top of the line high security lock. It doesn’t even work on tumblers. How the hell could you pick it with a hairpin?”  
“He cheats.” Danny said as he took a handful of files from Stiles’ hands and started scanning them.  
“You mean he uses magic?”  
“Not entirely!” Stiles protested “I just use a special lock-pick of my own making.”

Chris looked puzzled and Stiles handed him a small piece of metal which currently looked like the pockmarked appearance of a security key.

“It’s made of... stuff.” Stiles explained ‘helpfully’.  
“What stuff?” Danny was curious.  
“Silver, because it’s malleable; Iron, because it’s great for absorbing magic, plus it’s strong; Rowan ash, because it responds easily to my thoughts; a couple of drops of my own blood, because that seemed important for some reason and finally I made it into a traditional ‘pin’ shape and got a professional safecracker to use it to open a lock.”

“Why?” asked Danny.  
“Where the hell did you find a professional safecracker?” Chris exclaimed.

“He’d been arrested for drunk and disorderly and unpaid parking tickets and I got him to give me a few lessons while he was in jail sobering up. It was the night I was helping Dad with his invoices. By the way Danny my man, that’s an impressive job with the new system. Even Carmichael can find most things on it now, you do good work!”  
“Stiles... this is not Witchcraft is it?” Chris said indicating the skeleton key in his hand.  
“No...?” Stiles half answered “Oh alright, I borrowed another one of Deaton’s books on Wizardry, and it looked pretty simple. I mean, there was all this stuff about phases of the moon and alignment of stars and auspicious days and candles and chanting for weeks and stuff, but there seemed to be a sort of logic underneath all the froufrou so I sort of winged most of it and...”  
“It shouldn’t have worked.” Chris said softly “Wizards are among the most powerful creators of magical artefacts in the world, but they are limited to very specific requirements for their various rituals and recipes. That’s one of the reasons they are so respected but also why they are rarely feared. It would just take so long and so much effort for a wizard to try to take over the world that very few, if any of them, would ever bother with it.”  
“Oh my God. Stiles is breaking the laws of nature and the laws of super-nature again. Someone call the media. This is so unusual.” Danny deadpanned. “We have an hour left Stiles before we have to get you home to get ready, ok?”

“Ready? Oh! Why do I need so long to... oh! I forgot!”  
“Ready?” Chris asked “Oh that’s right, tonight is that special event for your friend who got killed, the drag queen right?”  
“Vetta Raine” Danny nodded “She was always such a nice person, and she used to keep an eye out for people like little Baby Gay here and make sure they stayed safe when they roamed the Jungle.”  
“You could come too Chris.” Stiles smiled at him as he sorted another file for Danny “If you’re worried about your virtue I’m sure we could talk Peter into pretending he’s your date to stop guys hitting on you.”

Danny muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like ‘stampede’ and ‘silver fox’.

“No thanks Stiles, I promised your father I would patrol outside the club to make sure nothing untoward happens tonight; besides, I think my virtue would be safer if I took a risk on the club patrons rather than Peter Hale.”  
“You’re not planning on being alone are you?” Stiles asked swiftly.

Chris felt a small rush of pleasure at the obvious concern in Stiles’ voice.

“No, I’ve got a couple of trustworthy friends who have agreed to come with me. You might recognise them as Melissa’s volunteers from the hospital. Since she’s going with you all tonight, as she’s on dayshift, they’re free to help keep me safe for a change.”  
“OK, cool. It’s been hard but I’m sure our plan of making sure no one is ever on their own is helping to keep Deucalion at bay.”  
“Plus he’s probably frantically trying to figure out what sort of caster you are Stiles” Danny added “It is a pity we couldn’t keep you a secret longer, but judging by what you did during the rescue he probably thinks you’re a Druid/Witch type like Ms Morrell rather than like Deaton. He’s been a lot more careful around us since we broke them out anyway.”  
“Have the twins experienced any fallout from their defection?” Chris asked.  
“A few death threats from Kali and a really nasty threat from Duke, all via voicemail and text.” Stiles grunted as he read something interesting.

“What did you do?”  
“Danny copied them into the police database and filed a complaint in the system, but put a delay on it so no one can see it except my dad until, or if, we need it.”  
“You’d use the mundane police against an Alpha werewolf like Deucalion?” Chris was amazed.  
“Not if it put them at risk, but it’s always wise to have more weapons than you need in your arsenal than to be wishing you had more during the shit-fight!” 

Chris shook his head. Stiles was always at least ten moves ahead of everyone around him.

“Oh! Lydia called while you were in the bathroom Stiles.” Chris suddenly recalled “She said to tell you she ‘found the good stuff’, whatever that means, and she’ll be meeting you at your house at seven-thirty, so you’d better be showered and ‘properly’ shaved?”  
“Thanks Chris, and no, it’s not about drugs or booze. Only Lydia and Danny know this, but I’m not just going to be watching tonight’s show for Vetta, I’m in it!”  
“Does your father know about this?”

Stiles looked slightly uncomfortable.

“Let’s just say that ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is a terrible and unworkable idea for the military but it works wonders in the Stilinski family?”

“Does Derek know about this?” Chris asked as his second question.  
“Derek loves surprises!”

“Stiles” Danny said with his eyes wide “Derek hates surprises. He almost had a panic attack when you surprised him at dinner the other night by conjuring a bunch of roses for him”  
“He was just startled.”  
“Stiles, he broke a piece off your dining room table and threw himself out the open window”  
“That was because of the bang and the puff of smoke; I should have just done the flowers and not tried to be flashy.”  
“He’s going to kill you.”  
“No he won’t; he’s my boo! Although I suppose if I tell him he can bodyguard me and Lydia and we can get there early.”  
“He’ll probably try to kill all the other men in the club anyway when they start ogling you!”  
“He’ll just glare at them a bit, that’ll settle them down.”  
“You do realise his murder-glare just makes the men want him more.”  
“Jealous?”  
“Yes.”  
“Danny, you could always make a play for Peter if you want a Hale of your very own.”  
“Ew! No! Peter is smoking hot, but he’s way too dark for me. I’ve done the whole ‘dating a psychopath’ thing; I want someone nice for a change; I’m sick of always choosing the bad boys.”

Chris shook his head and asked a question of his own.

“And the fact that he’s more than twice your age?”  
“I don’t mind a little mature beef.” Danny answered with a grin and a wink.

Stiles was laughing at Chris’ face when suddenly he stopped laughing and stared into space.   
Danny and Chris were startled and tried to snap him out of whatever state he was in.   
Stiles stared at nothing for several long seconds, then into Danny’s face.   
He grabbed Danny’s hands and smiled at him, but there was no awareness in his eyes so it was less comforting than might have been hoped for.  
Stiles spoke something, but neither of the listeners could understand it.   
Danny grabbed his laptop and pushed a few buttons.

“Stiles, repeat that!”

Stiles repeated his gobbledygook then seemed to deflate and passed out on the floor.

“Is he ok?” Danny asked as Chris checked the boy’s vitals.  
“He seems to be.” Chris said “He’s already waking up.”  
“Was that a prophecy?” Danny asked worriedly “It would be just like Stiles to develop prophecy as a power on top of everything else.”

Chris just shrugged his shoulders and looked at the heavens.  
As Stiles blinked awake and sat up, Danny articulated one of Chris’ deepest held wishes.

“I suppose it’s cool that he’s an Asgardian Demigod Genius Magical Tree, but I really wish Stiles came with a book of instructions.”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
“So where are Stiles and Lydia?” Scott asked again as Danny, Boyd and Jackson brought trays of, sadly, non-alcoholic drinks.

“He’s talking to Krystelle and the other girls before they go on” Danny evaded expertly “Lydia’s helping them with makeup and wigs.”  
“He’s going to miss the show” Scott whined.

Derek just rolled his eyes at the boy’s moaning and glared at yet another man in tight leather who was walking towards him with a leer on his lips.

“Having fun dear Nephew?” Peter drawled in his ear.

Derek just grunted and sighed deeply. 

“At least Cora seems to be enjoying herself” Peter murmured.

They looked off to the dance floor where Cora, Erica and Allison were dancing around a slightly scared looking Isaac.

“Is Isaac alright?” Derek asked softly.  
“He’s fine” Melissa said as she came back from the bathroom, “The girls are just running interference. In hindsight those pants were probably a mistake. Poor Isaac got a little overwhelmed by the attention when he first came in.”  
“Oh?” Peter seemed genuinely concerned.  
“He could handle the staring, and even the whistling, but the hands were getting more than a little invasive and he almost wolfed out.” Melissa was frowning.  
“Usually the Drag Queens keep everyone in line to stop that sort of thing happening” Danny said as he danced past them, with Aiden and Ethan on either arm. “But since they’re all in the show tonight there’s no one to keep the lechers off the fresh meat.”

Derek turned slowly to the man who had edged up to him from behind and simply stared at him until he retracted his hand and walked off shaking.

“It’s unusual but I’m actually feeling that Stiles is safer backstage than he would be here.” Derek murmured.  
“When he comes out you’ll have to make sure to stake your claim as publicly as possible” Peter advised helpfully, “He is the perfect twink after all.”

Scott and Jackson had found the easiest way to discourage come-ons from the crowd was to slip an arm around each others’ waists and snuggle occasionally.   
When Allison and the other girls rejoined them they stopped to giggle at the sight.   
Isaac pretended to get jealous and when Scott tried to calm him down Isaac started giggling too and kissed Jackson.   
Jackson responded enthusiastically and theatrically and several of the surrounding patrons applauded the hot scene.   
Scott was disturbed by the roiling of emotions the sight stirred in him, and concentrated on his coke.

“Is Stiles out yet?” Cora asked quietly. 

The week since the rescue had seen Cora and Stiles clash over and over again until during one huge row, when everyone including Melissa was certain blood was about to be spilled (and no one was prepared to guess which of the two would wind up being the one hurt), they had suddenly stopped in mid simultaneous shouting match and started laughing at themselves.   
Since then it was like Cora had become the little sister Stiles had always wanted and Cora had even threatened to tear Derek into ‘tiny, bloody, throbbing pieces’ should he ever break the boy’s heart.  
Derek was pretty sure she meant every word.

“I haven’t seen my Batman all day!” Erica whined “And he said he had an outfit for tonight guaranteed to uncurl my hair!”

“He does!” Lydia said as she slid into the space beside Jackson which miraculously appeared as she arrived and sipped the iced tea he had bought for her “I helped pick it out!”  
“Stiles willingly went shopping with you?” Jackson asked in horror.  
“I persuaded him” Lydia smirked “Although I admit I had reinforcements.”  
“Who...?” Scott began.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AND THOSE WHO HAVE YET TO MAKE UP YOUR MINDS! JUNGLE PROUDLY PRESENTS OUR BEASTLY BEAUTIES IN A TRIBUTE TO OUR DEAR LOST QUEEN, VETTA RAINE! PLEASE PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR OUR FABULOUS LADIES OF THE NIGHT AND THEIR SPECIAL GUEST!!!!

As throbbing synthesiser music began to pound from the speakers the sparkling curtains on the stage were opening and lasers and spotlights began to flash randomly across the darkened performance space.  
As the electronic organ music played and built the announcer began to introduce each performer, who took a dramatic pose under her own spotlight with her back to the crowd.

SHE’LL TELL YOU WHAT SORT OF FUTURE YOU’VE GOT - MISS KRYSTELLE BALL!

A large black-skinned figure in a red latex dress and thigh length boots shook her magnificent curly mane of black hair and posed with a microphone to her lips.   
Erica looked in envy at the six inch stilettos on the red leather boots.

SHE’S ON THE HUNT; SHE’S AFTER YOU - MS ANN-DEE CLIMAX!

The almost modest leopard print dress was revealed to be less modest than it appeared as the long, muscular dancer’s leg slipped through the crotch level split in the side of the tight skirt, drawing everyone’s gaze down to the ridiculously high heels of the leopard print ankle boots.   
Erica was now pretty sure she must have been a drag queen in a previous life.

MISTRESS OF THE MYSTERIES OF THE TANGO - MADAM LASHT JUAN-STANDING!

The Hispanic looking drag-queen was beautiful, with long black gloves and boots and a very, very small leather mini dress on.   
She carried a riding crop which startled Scott as it cracked across her own boot.   
Her long Spanish tresses were adorned with red roses and what looked like tiny skulls.

THE ORIGINAL GOOD TIME GIRL - MISS WANDA DE’PARK!

Blue sequins on the powder blue, sixties style mod dress flashed and twinkled in the lights.   
The blonde beehive looked almost high enough to hit the lighting bar above their heads and the white knee length stiletto boots completed the definitely ‘Austin Powers’ vibe.

OUR FABULOUS DANCERS TOMMY AND ZACK!

Two lean, muscular boys in tight (very tight) white pants and bow ties (and nothing else but a sheen of sweat) grinned as they stomped their patent leather boots onto the stage and flexed under their spotlights.  
The music built to the point where it was obviously about to change into the full song.   
Scott thought he might recognise it from somewhere but...

AND TONIGHT’S SPECIAL GUEST, MAKING HER VERY FIRST APPEARANCE AT JUNGLE...  
OUR VERY OWN GODDESS OF THE FOREST!   
MANY BOYS AND GIRLS ARE SPECIAL BUT.... SAMARA DIVINE!

In the spotlight all that could be seen was a headdress of leaves, twigs and flowers below which was a shimmering floor length cloak of what looked like peacock feathers and butterfly wings.   
The figure was tall, very tall, and lean, with broad shoulders and a slender waist and as she turned her head to gaze coolly at the crowd...

“Oh my God!” Allison gasped for breath while Isaac seemed about to pass out.  
“Batman?”  
“It’s Stiles!” Scott was gaping now; Cora rolled her eyes at the statement of the obvious.

The music began and Peter recognised the classic Pet Shop Boys hit immediately.   
The drags and the dancers were performing an excellent and quite complicated dance number to it, while Krystelle actually sang along.   
Stiles (or rather Samara) remained fairly stationary and basically swirled her cloak dramatically as the others danced around her.

“Stiles was too busy to come to all the rehearsals for this number” Lydia explained “But wait till the finale. He’s been practicing!”

The pack members were still seemingly stunned at Stiles’ presence on the stage.

“He’s actually beautiful!” Cora whispered, and everyone agreed (even Scott, although he did look a little green as he did so)

Derek sat there, half watching the act and half watching the crowd.   
He felt threatened by the number of men pointing and leering at Stiles.   
He also felt an almost irresistible need to leap onto the stage and...   
Derek shifted uncomfortably in his seat and regretted letting Stiles talk him into wearing the black jeans.

Krystelle launched into a spirited version of ‘I Will Survive’ at the end of the number and the crowd roared its approval as she finished and began to speak.

“Ok people, we’re all here to honour Vetta and her memory. Now we all know Vetta was fond of saying that however hard her time in Iraq might have been, it was nothing so hard as the first time she put on a pair of heels. So Vetta, you cranky bitch, this song is for you. And remember girl, wherever you’ve gone, whether it’s up above or down below... Give Em Hell!”

As Krystelle launched into a very appropriate version of Nancy Sinatra’s classic hit, the pack noticed that Stiles (Samara) had ditched the flowing peacock feather cape to reveal a silky, grey and green bandage dress that clung to every curve.   
It turned out that, false breasts aside, Stiles had some serious curves.   
The skirt came to mid thigh, making it the most modest of all the outfits on the stage, although the off the shoulder nature revealed his toned shoulders and a lot of collar bone.   
The cut outs also revealed tantalising glimpses of his taut abs and his chest.   
His eyes looked huge with the makeup Lydia and the girls had applied, their colour more cinnamon and whisky than Derek had ever seen before.

“How is he doing that?” Erica whispered as Stiles joined in with the marching of the other performers. “Those have to be at least six inches!”

Stiles’ already ridiculously long legs were lengthened even more by the silvery Amazon stilettos that wrapped around his ankles and twinkled with emeralds and diamonds under the stage lights.   
Melissa was trying to work out how a boy who was capable of tripping over air while walking between the refrigerator and the kitchen table was capable of not only walking but...

“Oh my God! He just did a pirouette!” Allison exclaimed and Cora almost dropped her drink.

As the medley drew to a close the dancing grew almost painfully complex, but somehow Stiles managed to keep his balance and danced like the professionals.   
Jackson and Isaac both let out an embarrassing squeak when Stiles dropped into a perfect split on the runway and then leapt back to his feet in one motion and kept dancing.   
When the music ended Stiles was flushed and grinning and only had time to wink at the pack, blow a kiss to Derek and hurry backstage to change.

“Forget staking a claim” Peter said quietly in Derek’s ear “We’ll need to start killing them now, before he comes out or one of them is bound to get through.”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
“Stiles, could you kill Peter again please?”

Stiles looked up from where he and Boyd were going over several history questions and stared at Erica.   
Cora, sitting in the armchair near the window snorted into her French book and tried to hide her smile.

“What has Uncle Creeper done to offend you Catwoman?”

Boyd sighed and looked fondly at Erica.

“He’s making her study Algebra, and Erica hates it.”  
“He’s even giving us pop quizzes,” the girl complained “We’re not even going to school and he makes us do tests and homework! It sucks!”  
“You know we can’t risk you coming back to school,” Stiles sighed “If you come back to school, then you’ll have to go back to your own houses, and that would leave you and your families vulnerable again because they don’t know about the whole wolf thing.”  
“Lydia lives with her mom and she doesn’t know.” Erica whined.  
“Lydia has Jackson there almost permanently,” Stiles pointed out infuriatingly reasonably, “And she also lives in a fortress with more security systems than some government offices.”  
“I still can’t believe you killed Peter.” Cora said softly, “Although from the sound of things, he totally deserved it.”

Cora hadn’t taken the news of Laura’s death well, until she and Stiles had spent an entire night talking and she had finally understood the hell Peter must have been living through and how his mind had been so terribly twisted.

“You can’t cope with Stiles killing him but you can cope perfectly with Peter defying the laws of nature and coming back from the dead?” Erica asked.  
“Uncle Peter’s always been resourceful,” Cora said primly, “Plus now we know Lydia is a Banshee, it makes more sense.”  
“I for one am grateful that Peter is willing to help us catch up.” Boyd’s voice was so seldom heard that everyone was always a little startled when he did decide to speak. “It’s junior year and I really don’t want to have to repeat a year of school.”  
“You’re almost caught up with us already Erica.” Stiles pointed out “So he’ll be lightening the workload soon and just making sure you don’t fall behind us again. This way, when you can return to school, we can arrange some tests to show that you’ve been able to keep up with our year.”

“Have we worked out any more of what we can say about our disappearance?” Erica sighed “I mean, living at Derek’s is ok, but I miss my mom sometimes, even her fussing over me can be alright in small doses.”  
“We’re working on it” Stiles frowned “Dad and Chris are trying to come up with a way to explain your absence without having to get the FBI involved. Running away would be the simplest explanation, but that would mean you’re in trouble with your folks. I suggested that we use SHIELD when they finally come looking for me; make it one of our bargaining chips for the negotiations.”  
“How can you sit there so calmly and talk about some mysterious government organisation searching for you?” Cora asked “What if they try to take you away? Or put you in a camp like the one’s the anti-mutant nut-jobs want to build? Or dissect you to find out how you work?”

“No one is going to dissect me.” Stiles said calmly “Remember, SHIELD are the good guys, mostly. They cope with the Avengers without putting them in specimen jars, even The Hulk. Besides, if they try to take me against my will I shall rain down destruction on them that will make Hiroshima look like an upset trashcan. Plus Danny said he would wreak such havoc on their computer systems that they’d be crying for months.”

“Please tell me, Danny, that you haven’t tried to hack into a top secret international spy organisation.” Sherriff Stilinski said as he, Chris Argent and Danny arrived with several bags of groceries.

“Of course I haven’t, that would be illegal.” Danny said, but it sounded a lot like an automatic response. “Speaking of SHIELD Stiles, I think someone is sniffing around the school computers trying to find information about the students.”  
“You don’t know it’s them?”  
“Well... IF I had illegally hacked into SHIELD’s systems and IF I had done so without being detected, which I haven’t, because of the whole illegality of the idea, but IF I had, a smart person would have put a few programs in place which triggered alerts should someone use the system to search certain databases or for certain terms or names...”

“So someone is snooping and you know it isn’t SHIELD?” Chris cut to the chase.  
“I know they aren’t using their own computer network to do it.”  
“How do you know so much about these secret organisations anyway?” Cora asked.

The Sherriff made a point of putting the groceries in the kitchen while singing loudly to himself.

“Dad, we all know you are listening.”  
“Plausible deniability son.”

Danny sat down on the floor and got his homework out.

“I’ve got a few contacts in various hacker and fringe organisations” He explained “Anonymous, Rising Tide and others; not that I was ever a member, but I used to chat online with some of them from time to time, or we’d swap hints or stories. I also have a couple of E-buddies in various government departments, although I only know the real identity of one of them, and she doesn’t know mine, yet.”  
“Yet?” Stiles raised an eyebrow.  
“I’m thinking of going to visit her when I do the college tour thing. I can’t just rock up to the Naval Yard in Washington and say ‘Hi Abs, it’s me!’ She wants to take me LARPing with her.”  
“She sounds special.” No one could throw shade quite as well as Cora.

“I also want to meet a guy who travels a lot. He seems to get around anyway. I think he works for Stark Industries. We have had some really great chats.”  
“With our luck it will turn out to be Tony Stark.” Erica snickered.  
“No, I’ve spoken to him on the phone a few times, after my last bad breakup he really helped me see things clearly. He has the sexiest accent too...”

“Could one of the hacktavist organisations be trying to ferret out secrets?” Chris asked Danny.  
“It’s possible. If they noted SHIELD’s interest in Beacon Hills they could be trying to work out what they are after.”  
“Great, “Stiles grumped, “as if we didn’t already have enough people after our blood.”

“What time do we need to start cooking Stiles?” John called out from the kitchen.  
“Everyone is due here at seven, so... soon?”  
“I’ll go start chopping and slicing.” Erica offered “I need to get some energy out of my system.”  
“What was up with you and Ms Blake this afternoon Stiles?” Danny asked “You looked like you were about to start laying the smack-down on her.”  
“There have been two more deaths.” Chris said sadly, “And someone tried to kidnap Tara from the Sherriff’s Office car park.”  
“If it hadn’t been for that medallion Deaton gave me I wouldn’t have noticed anything wrong.” The Sherriff said as he walked through the room to go upstairs. “There was a funny looking mist that came up as we were leaving; Tara couldn’t move, but I could and I just hustled her back inside.” 

“Do we know what...?” Danny began.  
“The other two were a retired elementary school teacher and a karate instructor from the youth club so...”  
“Philosophers.” Stiles was shaken “Tara used to be a teacher before she joined the department.”  
“But she’s ok?” Erica asked.  
“That just means someone else is going to die.” Stiles was cold. “Someone I don’t know. I’m starting to think she’s targeting people in my life deliberately.”

“Still no way to prove it’s Ms Blake?” Danny leant against Stiles’ legs to offer comfort.  
“She doesn’t even feel creepy anymore.” Stiles grumbled “It’s like she has managed to hide her real self perfectly.”  
“Any progress on working out why she’s sacrificing people?” Chris was willing to go with Stiles’ instincts any day.  
“Lydia thinks it must be something to do with the Alpha Pack. What little we managed to get from Ms Morrell seems to point at that. Deucalion is actually worried about ‘The Darach’. Peter’s opinion is that she must have been a relative or lover of one of the pack members killed by the Alpha’s when they joined Duke’s crazy pack.”

“What if she’s like Ms Morrell?” Boyd asked.  
“What do you mean baby?” Erica decided it was time to snuggle.  
“I mean, Deaton used to be the Hale Emissary didn’t he? What if one of the Alphas killed their emissary when they killed the rest of their pack? If Ms Blake was related to them like Ms Morrell is to Deaton that would be a powerful motive for revenge.”  
“Boyd,” Stiles leaned into the large teen’s shoulder, “You may not say a lot, but when you do it’s worth listening to. We should try to work out which one of them she’s after the most. It might give us another advantage.”

Suddenly Cora, Erica and Boyd stiffened and straightened in their chairs while Danny’s phone played an alert no one had ever heard before.  
Stiles also shot to his feet and went pale.

“Derek!”  
“What’s wrong?” John said urgently as his son began to head for the door.  
“Derek is calling for help!” Erica said, “He’s howling.”

Danny held up his phone.  
“Lydia is in trouble at the school.” He said urgently “She and Jackson were staying behind to finish their Government project; Peter was going to go escort them home. I don’t know what’s happening but Lydia has used the panic button function I put into her and Jackson’s phones and now I can’t get either of them to answer.”

Stiles’ brain shot into overdrive.

“Boyd and Erica, you come with me to Derek’s. We can’t risk you being seen on camera at the school yet. Cora, I know you are worried about your brother, but they might need another wolf at the school, so go with Dad and Chris. Dad, you drive. Chris, call Allison and get her, Scott and Scarfy to the school. Then send a message to the twins and get them to come help us at Derek’s loft.”

“Stiles, let Boyd drive.” John said as everyone raced for the door and into the front yard.  
“I wasn’t going to drive.” Stiles snapped. “Catwoman, Boyd, grab my hands and close your eyes.”

They did so. Seconds later all three sank into the earth and were gone.

“Did we know he could do that?” Danny asked as they ran for the Police cruiser.

“I don’t think he knew he could do that.” Sherriff Stilinski sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/used-high-security-key-royalty-free-image/184949375  
> A security key
> 
> Music Links (for the show, try clicking the first one as you start reading the bit where the music starts)  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S16tVNha9XE  
> (Pet Shop Boys, It's a Sin - Glastonbury 2000)
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwk75Fek3qs  
> (Kinky Boots, the original movie, These Boots Are Made For Walking medley)
> 
> http://www.indiexo.com/product-p/olive-cut-out-bandage-dress.htm  
> Stiles' outfit, although I'm imagining a different colour, the shoes are close though.
> 
> Oh, and yes, Danny's friends online he knows as "Ab-Fab" and "JJ"


	12. This Is Going To Hurt Me A Lot More Than It Hurts You (Or..... Maybe Not?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek is hurt  
> Kali is mean  
> Erica is shocked  
> Boyd is terrified  
> Stiles is.... oh...... oh dear......  
> Scott is getting it  
> Lydia is mad  
> Isaac is fluffy  
> Jackson is in trouble  
> Expected unexpected visitors visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SERIOUS VIOLENCE WARNING!!!!!!!  
> like... serious, this is not a drill! If you get triggered easy, skip the first section and read the end note where I'll outline what happens but not describe it.  
> I'm serious, it squicked me out AS I WAS WRITING IT!  
> I was expecting the canon level violence from the scene (you know which one, hint, there's a large metal pipe involved) but I was not expecting this.  
> No one was expecting this. I freaked myself out a bit and couldn't work out where it all came from, but since I'm already starting to write the next chapter I think I have an idea where Stiles might be getting... no....spoilers! Bad Author!
> 
> Oh, and I wound up putting in a flashback (helpfully labelled ) despite the fact that I really hate flashbacks, but it worked and it fitted so... meh  
> Oh, and I was a bit surprised when a character I HADN'T WRITTEN INTO THE SCENE suddenly started talking and I had to go back and add her into the description.  
> Sneaky bloody characters, whose story is this?  
> Comments are more than welcomed - it lets me know I haven't screwed everything up yet. (and I'm a whiny needy bitch, sue me)

“I am never, ever, ever, ever doing that again!”  
“Suck it up Catwoman, it’s not that bad.”  
“Could you stop arguing and keep running please?”

Boyd had a point.  
The closest telluric current to Derek’s loft was only a few hundred yards from the street, but it still took a measurable time to run that distance, and Stiles needed to be there, like, NOW.  
Luckily he could run a lot faster than anyone knew, even him!  
.

!!!!!!!!!FLASHBACK STARTS!!!!!!!!!!

.  
In the weeks since his heritage had started to manifest Stiles had been steadily growing stronger, faster and more resilient.  
Like, seriously stronger.  
Only Derek (and maybe Peter, because he’s a creep like that) knew the full extent of the changes. Not the plant based ones, not even Deaton had been told some of those. Some of them were just weird. Derek knew more than most, but only because he had seen Stiles naked.  
No, not like that, stop thinking about ‘that’ Stiles!

Stiles had slipped in the shower and let out a shriek as he fell.  
Derek had broken in seconds later to find an unharmed, highly embarrassed and totally nude and glistening Stiles lying in the bottom of the bathtub without a mark on him.  
Instead there was a large dent in the side of the metal tub.

“I guess we should be glad Dad got an old fashioned brass tub instead of porcelain?” Stiles had quipped.  
He had tried to cover himself but gave up when he realised it just made things worse.

“When did you get a tattoo?” was all Derek could say. “Why runes?”  
“It’s not a tattoo Derek, they just started appearing. I’ve tried to copy some of them down to ask Lydia or Deaton about them but... it’s really embarrassing.”

Derek stared silently for several breaths.

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about Stiles, “He said huskily, “Is your head ok?”  
“Yeah, I’ve been faking it a little in the training sessions with the wolves because... I think it takes an awful lot to hurt me these days. I know the betas’ claws only seem able to pierce my skin when I want them to.”  
“Do you know why?”  
“Deaton thinks it might be my Asgardian blood becoming dominant and overwriting my human DNA. Thor and Loki were both pretty smashed up during the aliens in New York thing, not to mention The Hulk going to town on both of them, and all they seemed to have were minor abrasions and bruises, and there was footage of Thor being blown through an entire building so...”  
“So... all your Superhero dreams are coming true then?”  
“Well... I haven’t worked out a kickass name yet...”  
“Stiles...”  
“My dreams all came true when you said you loved me Sourwolf.”

There was a long pause.

“I can’t believe you of all people would utter something that cheesy!”  
“It’s not cheesy if I’m naked when I say it! Naked makes it sexy and endearing.”  
“Do I have to say a cheesy thing now?”  
“Only if you want to do it naked.”  
“Stiles... We discussed this.”  
“I know Sourwolf, I can wait if you can.”  
“If you are not too long, I would wait for you forever.”

Another pause. 

“Was that...?”  
“The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde. Laura was a Lit. Major.”  
“You are so wet Derek.”  
“Actually, from where I’m standing it looks like...”  
.

!!!!!!!FLASHBACK ENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!

.  
Stiles kept running, and Erica and Boyd were struggling to keep up with the human for once.  
Well... former human.

Stiles and the others ignored the lift and ran up the several flights of stairs.  
Stiles was the only one not breathing heavily.

“What can you hear?” Stiles snapped at Erica.  
“Kali is in there, she sounds like it is just her and Derek. Derek is in pain, I can hear his breath hitching and...”

Stiles threw the door to one side and it slid so hard it almost flew off its track.  
The loft was a mess; not that there was ever a lot of furniture to be messy, but there had obviously been a fight.

“Ennis was here too, and some humans I think. They smell like Hunters, but without Wolfsbane.”  
“Thanks Catwoman.”

Stiles took in the gory sight before him.  
Derek was scratched and bleeding from multiple claw wounds, as well as wounds from what looked like large calibre pistols.  
His body and clothing also bore the marks of repeated Taser attacks. 

It was the long steel pipe thrust through his abdomen and pinning him three feet off the floor that made Stiles’ blood freeze.

“Hello little Witch” Kali oozed confidence and power. “No hasty moves or poor Derek...”

She twisted the pipe a little and Derek wheezed in pain and more blood flowed.

“Let him go.”

Stiles didn’t sound even remotely human as he uttered those words.  
Erica and Boyd shivered as they heard him.

“Deucalion wishes to discuss an alliance...”  
“Let. Him. Go.”  
“Be silent little Witch! You humans are so pathetic. Listen to Deucalion’s generous offer and I will let you ‘rescue’ your paltry excuse for an Alpha.”  
“Go ahead.”

Stiles just stared at Kali. 

“We no longer want this pathetic Alpha. He’s proven himself weak and...”  
“Tell me Duke’s offer then get out. If Derek suffers any more at your hands, you will suffer the consequences. That is your last warning. So... talk.”  
“We want the True Alpha. He and your pack help us against the Darach, then we take him with us when we leave. Your pack gets to live, even the faithless ones.”

She sneered at Erica and Boyd who bristled back at her.

“We’ll discuss it tonight. You will be informed of our decision via Morrell. It may take several days.”

Kali frowned at his attitude.

“You will decide by tomorrow and...”  
“We will decide when we decide. You’ve done Deucalion’s little errand, now LET HIM GO.”

Erica could have sworn the building shook as Stiles said those last words.  
Despite the quietness of his voice the words hurt her wolfish ears.  
Boyd was terrified beyond belief because he was looking, not at Kali like Erica was, but at Stiles.  
His face was...  
Boyd was more frightened than he had been when a prisoner in the Bank.

“But I lost my favourite toy, didn’t I Erica sweetie, and I have so many games I want to teach you all.”

Kali twisted the pipe again and Derek coughed up blood.

No one saw him move.

Afterwards, when they were trying to relate to the others what had happened, Erica and Boyd could honestly say that they had not seen Stiles move.  
One second he was standing just inside the open doorway, several yards from where Kali had Derek impaled against the opposite wall with the pipe, then in the blink of an eye, literally, he was next to the Alpha and snarling into her face.

“Get away from him you BITCH!” Stiles hissed, or possibly screamed? 

Erica and Boyd moaned as the sound of his voice made their heads throb.  
Kali had blood streaming from her own ears.  
Kali swung out a clawed left hand towards Stiles’ throat, the one she wasn’t holding the pipe with.  
Her other hand was...  
Stiles reached out, as if Kali was moving in slow motion, dodging her incoming left arm as he grasped her right arm just above the elbow.  
Stiles placed his right hand around her throat and across her upper chest and...

He pulled.

With a sound anyone who had ever broken down a chicken for cooking would recognise, Kali’s right arm was ripped from her body.  
Not dislocated, but torn completely off.  
The Alpha She-wolf gasped in shock and would have fallen but for the hand around her throat.  
Then Stiles picked her up and threw her out the door, narrowly missing Erica and Boyd who were still standing there staring in shock and horror.

Stiles moved like a blur as he lifted the crumpled, bleeding, screaming werewolf from the ground just outside the doorway and threw her at the opening lift.  
Aiden and Ethan looked like they were about to either vomit or scream as the blood-soaked form nearly knocked them flying.  
Kali somehow managed to stand up beside the lift; she was obviously not out of fight.  
Stiles proceeded to beat her face to a pulp with his improvised club while calmly lecturing her about ‘good manners’ and ‘proper negotiating procedure’ and the importance of ‘heeding warnings when they have been made so generously’.  
Only a few seconds later Kali was reeling, bleeding and trying to run.

Stiles let her get into the lift, and as the door was closing, he spoke again.

“Oh, and Kali, here’s my gesture of good faith for Deucalion! It should be re-attachable if Marin can get to you fast enough.”

He threw the battered limb at its owner, hitting her in the face and the door slid closed.  
Stiles turned back to the four wolves standing frozen in the doorway of Derek’s loft. 

“Aiden, call Deaton; Ethan, call Melissa; Erica, get me some clean clothes for Derek from his room.” He looked down at himself “Better get some for me too. Boyd, help me get him down.”  
“Batman?”  
“I’m probably going to have a total screaming breakdown over what I just did, but not until I get my boyfriend down off that wall and remove all foreign objects from his body. Now please, do as I ask.”

They did as he asked.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
By the time everyone got back to the Stilinski house it was too late to cook, so Peter ordered and paid for several dozen pizzas and took over the pack mother duties that Stiles usually too care of.  
Stiles was semi-functional, at best.

Well... technically Stiles was fully functional for short periods at a time, and then catatonic for long stretches where he would just sob uncontrollably or stare into space as if his brain had switched to power save mode.

Derek was resting on the sofa, surrounded by pack, as was Stiles.  
Erica, Boyd and the twins had related what they had seen.  
The Sherriff had gone to the bathroom for a long time so he could weep in private at what his son had been pushed to do.  
Chris and Peter had just shared a significant look and nodded grimly to each other.  
Deaton and Melissa had said nothing, but they had both made sure to offer Stiles and Derek many reassuring touches as they worked on Derek’s wounds.

It was Scott who finally snapped Stiles out of his funk.  
He had simply picked the semi-conscious boy up from the sofa and glared at anyone who tried to stop him.  
Derek had nodded his thanks to him as he carried Stiles outside into the cool of the night and out to his mother’s gardens.

“Stiles, lie here with me, I want to talk to you.”

Stiles had curled up into a ball and begun to cry.

“Stiles, I need you to listen to me, ok buddy?”

Stiles just cried harder.

>>Stiles! Listen to me, please

Scott’s eyes flared deep red as his voice deepened and resonated. Inside the house, all the wolves twitched as they heard the unmistakeable sound of an Alpha in full command mode.

“Only you would use your Alpha voice for the first time and say ‘please’. You are such a puppy.”

Scott smiled as he heard the real, sarcastic voice of his brother for the first time since he had come back from rescuing Derek.

“I’m sorry Scotty, I messed up. I’m a worse monster than she is.”

Scott hugged his bud closer as the herbs they were lying amongst seemed to curve around them to protect them and comfort them.

“Stiles... do you think Kali ever lies in the dark and cries about all the people she’s hurt?”

Stiles snorted in Scott’s arms.

“Scott, I’m the clever one. Don’t try to reason with me about this. I’m the smart one remember, you’re the pure, good one.”  
“Then listen to my heart Stiles. You are not a monster. You did something terrible, and frightening today, yes, but you had a reason. And you didn’t kill her. You must have wanted to. She hurt your friends, she hurt Derek. You would have killed her to protect them, I know that. Maybe you did go a bit far, but you can’t take it back Stiles. And remember, you did warn her. Maybe... think about this, maybe next time you warn one of the Alpha Pack, they’ll actually listen to you now?”

Stiles tried to decide whether to laugh or cry.

“I hurt you so much bro, because I refused to see that my way of doing things isn’t always the only way. I’m even prepared to admit now that sometimes, not often, but sometimes it might not even be the best way. But you have to do some work too. Don’t just decide you’re a monster because you go a little too far trying to change someone’s behaviour.”  
“Scott... I beat her to a pulp using her own arm, which I tore from her body, then threw it at her as she was trying to escape.”  
“Well... she has another arm”

Stiles snorted at the dark humour.

“When Peter bit me... after I finally accepted what you had been trying to bash into my head all that time, I was freaked out by how changed I was. Suddenly I had all this anger in me. I mean, I’ve been angry before, especially when Dad left, but this was an instinct to bite and claw and kill. It scared me, and so I tried to pretend it didn’t exist. I tried to pretend that I wasn’t that, that I didn’t feel those things. But I was lying to myself, and eventually I had to face the wolf in me, or I would continue to be a danger to my friends and family. Accepting the wolf didn’t make me a monster though, even though the wolf wanted to do monstrous things at times.”  
“Is this meant to help me Scott?”  
“Shut up, I’m getting there. I know I suck at this, but you’re the one who does this sort of thing usually and I don’t want you talking to yourself right now, you’re unbalanced.”

Stiles rolled his eyes.

“What I mean is... we don’t know much about the whole Asgard thing do we? Not really. Loki tried to destroy New York, and take over the world. Even Thor does a lot of punching and throwing of that hammer and stuff. Maybe your Asgard side has instincts that you’re not used to. Fierce protectiveness? Violence? Fart-based humour? Who knows? You’ve always been vicious when someone tried to hurt your friends or the helpless, maybe your Asgard side just ramps that up a whole heap? Don’t blame yourself for doing something you might not have been able to control yet. Maybe you need to find an anchor too? I could throw baseballs at you like you did for me? I’d even ask the others to help!”

Stiles lost it and just laughed until his stomach hurt.

“Can we go back inside now?” Scott asked “Because I think one of these plants is trying to get to second base with me.”

Stiles giggled, and the lightness in the sound made Scott’s heart ease a little more.

“That’s probably the mint. Mint is a real slut I’ve discovered, it loves everyone and everything.”

They walked back into the house.

“Deaton says that wolves can’t regrow limbs, but she’d be able to reattach it with some help from Marin.” Scott said as they opened the back door.  
“When did he say that?”  
“You’ve been sort of in and out of the room most of the night. Not physically, but...”  
“How’s Lydia?”  
“She’s ok. A bit roughed up and steaming mad. Danny is already trying to track Jackson’s phone, and Lydia threw hers into one of the other SUVs so maybe he’ll get a signal from it too. She had pushed the panic button so it was tracked for a while before something blocked it.”

“You’re sure they weren’t hunters?” Stiles asked Allison as she made room for him on the couch next to Derek again. ‘Would your Dad know?”  
“Chris dropped your Dad at the Station and offered to take Melissa and Deaton home. He’s got his men stationed at Melissa’s house now, in the spare room.” Danny said tiredly. “He’s going to go home and check his sources in case someone is defying the interdiction. Deaton said he’d stay with Chris for tonight, for both their safety.”  
“Where’s Peter?” Stiles asked.  
“He’s with your Dad. Apart from Scott and Derek, he’s probably the most dangerous fighter among the wolves and he said that you would be worried if your Dad was left alone, even if he was supposedly safe in the Station.” Allison had approved of Peter’s actions.  
“He’s going to ruin his reputation as an evil psychopath if he keeps up with the caring”  
“He saved me from being taken.” Lydia said sleepily from her spot between Isaac and Cora. “I don’t think those men were Hunters, they felt more military.”

“SHIELD?” Boyd asked  
“Perhaps? But why take Jackson?” Scott mused.  
“Maybe it’s whoever Danny said was snooping in the school records?” Derek said with his eyes closed. He was healing much faster than expected after a ‘special tea’ made by Stiles, but still felt weak.  
“If they only have limited access to SHIELD’s records then...” Stiles stopped talking suddenly and laughed.

“What?” Lydia grumbled “I know that squawk, you’ve worked it out haven’t you.”  
“They think Jackson is me.”  
“They think he’s Stiles?” Isaac was a bit lost, but no one minded because he was looking very cuddly and fluffy at that moment.  
“No!” Danny got it “They think Jackson is the Asgardian!”  
“Why would they think...?” Erica started to ask.  
“Look at the two examples of Asgardians we have on record,” Danny went into teacher mode “Thor and Loki. What do they have in common?”  
“They’re both super strong, and resilient.” Cora offered.  
“They are both white dudes.” From Boyd.  
“They’re both smoking hot and sexy!”  
“Erica, don’t claw my Dad’s throw cushions.”  
“They’re both royalty, and act like it?” Allison had watched a lot of coverage of the New York incident, and not because she had the hots for Hawkeye either Mr Scott McCall!

Lydia laughed and Stiles summed it all up for them.

“Who do we know who is a star athlete, super strong, strikingly good looking, of definite Aryan descent, socially elevated, arrogant, pompous and vain (sorry Lydia but he is) and happens to have, on record, the fact that his parents are NOT his natural parents?”  
“They really think Jackson is...?” Scott was a little shocked.  
“That shows you the dangers of working from an incomplete data set!” Lydia said with judgement in her tone.  
“I doubt SHIELD would make that much of a mistake.” Danny frowned “So who has taken Jackson if it isn’t them?”  
“The Darach?” Cora asked.  
“We’ll need to...” Stiles began but stopped as the doorbell rang.  
“It’s 2am on a Friday night, or rather Saturday morning, who makes house calls at this time?” Lydia asked.

Everyone tensed as Stiles went to open the door.

“No, let me Stiles!” Scott insisted, trying to drag him back. Even Scott’s Alpha strength couldn’t budge him.  
“I only smell three people.” Isaac had the best nose among the teens “One of them is Dr Simmons. The other two smell weird, but not bad.”

Stiles nodded as if some other detail in the back of his mind had been confirmed and opened the door.

“Hello Stiles, I realise it’s terribly late but...”  
“Come in Dr Simmons.”

Stiles stood aside and led Gemma and her two companions into the living room. None of them seemed to bat an eye at the pile of teenagers (plus Derek) draped over the floor and furniture.

“I told you to call me Gemma, Stiles!”  
“Yes, but that is when you’re being my Chemistry teacher, not when you’re being a SHIELD agent.”

Gemma seemed startled and then disappointed at herself.

“Oh don’t worry Dr Simmons” Lydia smiled as she rose from the floor, “Stiles probably worked it out even before we got Danny to look up your academic and teaching records. Someone with your qualifications and experience teaching high school chemistry in a small town in Northern California? Unlikely. When we saw where you had worked before we figured you must be from SHIELD.”  
“You’re still the best Chemistry teacher we’ve ever had though!” Danny smiled his ‘sunshine #3’ smile at her.

The man with Gemma smiled at this and offered his hand to Stiles.

“Alpha Hale,” he said nodding to Derek who still sat on the sofa but was ready to fight however exhausted he felt, “Mr Stilinski? My name is Phil Coulsen; I am the current Director of SHIELD.”  
“And your striking friend is?” Derek muttered, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The tall, dark haired woman was staring at Stiles in a manner that made Derek very nervous.   
He wasn’t sure if she had blinked the entire time.   
She looked torn between crying and laughing.

“Honour to you, “the woman spoke forcefully, not shouting, but slightly too loud for indoors on a very late night, “I greet thee, fellow warriors. My name is Sif.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stiles (with Erica and Boyd) rescues Derek who is impaled by a steel pipe with Kali torturing him by twisting it as she offers a deal from Deucalion.  
> Stiles loses his temper after warning Kali several times and rips her arm off with one pull and then beats her to a pulp with it.  
> Scott reassures Stiles afterwards (that he is NOT a monster) and postulates whether the increase in violent impulses might not be related to his Asgardian nature.  
> Jackson has been kidnapped by unknown forces who probably think HE is the Asgardian.  
> Then SHIELD (Coulsen and Simmons) arrives with Lady Sif as a special surprise guest.


	13. Hunt The Thimble (Warmer, Cooler, Hot, Hot, Cold)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles learns stuff  
> Sif learns her limits  
> Coulson learns more wolfy facts  
> Jackson learns his friends WILL come to the rescue  
> Derek learns to trust  
> Scott learns... yeah... not so much really (but he tries)  
> Everyone learns something shocking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why didn't people tell me I was spelling Coulson wrong? Sigh, my dumb ass fault! I also discovered I'm spelling Gemma with a G (because I know THREE people who spell it that way) while the character on TV has a J, but I'm going to use the hoary old "AU excuse" (I know, I'm pathetic, I'll probably cave in and change it after this chapter and pretend not to notice)  
> This chapter surprised me a bit (like they all do really) but I usually HATE telling everything in "what happened before you got here" mode, but it just seemed to work better this way (for the first section anyway). I also realise that the idea of SHIELD happily going off on a mission with teenagers in tow (even if they are mostly werewolves) is a bit odd, but... meh, I'm a rebel!  
> By the way, did you know what the most common wood for making baseball bats is in the world? ASH! as in Fraxinus Excelsior, the Ash tree (not the Mountain Ash, that's Sorbus Acuparia (aka Rowan). Oh, and the Ash's seeds are called Samaras (see the drag show), see what I did there?  
> Comments are always wonderful, and even though I'm crap at replying I do read and re read every one and some days that's all that gets me up in the afternoon! :P

Phil Coulson had never seen an Asgardian looking so tired. 

Even after The Hulk had smashed Loki into the floor several times (he loved watching the video of that); even after Thor had singlehandedly brought down Doom’s gigantic battle-drone (by ramming it with his own body repeatedly) they had still maintained that indefinable air that all the Asgardians he had met seemed to share (even the drunk ones).

Sif was sitting on a chair in the main living area of the Bus and looked... wrung out.

“Are you alright Sif?”

Phil said a quick prayer of thanks for Gemma Simmons, probably the only person on board who could get away with asking the fiercely proud warrior woman that question.  
Well, May probably could ask it too, but she never would.

“It is... I’ve never... He is unstoppable!”

Phil knew exactly who she was talking about, and he agreed.  
The team from SHIELD had made contact with their target less than a day ago, and already it had changed... everything.

It had not been his first choice, and it was so against every stricture of the SHIELD guidebook for operational conduct that he was no longer really caring about any of their usual protocols.  
When HYDRA had snatched the Whittmore boy he and his team had been forced to do something which he was fairly certain would have had Fury bursting a blood vessel.  
Who was he kidding; Fury probably WAS bursting a blood vessel right now. Phil might be in charge of SHIELD these days, but Fury had ways of keeping himself in the loop.

Still, the decision had been necessary.  
Very few in SHIELD had ever known about Werewolves and the related supernatural world. Luckily, the few who did and were also HYRDA traitors had either been killed or recaptured before they managed to spread the word. Retrieving the lost Beta was a priority on those grounds alone. The chance that, by not acting, his team might harm the Beacon Hills pack’s chances of mounting a rescue had been the real impetus.  
They had come to find a rogue Asgardian and had found a... Stiles.

Fitz and Simmons were both more than a little bit in love with the boy and his friends.  
Stiles, Lydia and Danny all seemed capable of understanding more of the conversations between the pair than Phil had ever been able to.  
Lydia and Stiles had even argued a contrary position on a few topics, which was incredibly unusual and actually won one of the arguments.

Daisy had discovered about twenty minutes into the meeting they had organised for that morning that she and Danny had actually been friends online for years and had begun a conversation that he had no chance of even hoping to follow.  
May had bonded with Chris Argent over knives of all topics, and Mack and Sherriff Stilinski had somehow bonded without saying anything at all.

The meeting had been more chaotic than anything Phil had ever presided over before, even Avengers meetings ran more smoothly, but somehow they had managed to make incredible progress.  
Stiles himself was seemingly capable of simultaneously listening to and holding several conversations at once, all while keeping a mental track of important data and working out patterns no one else had even imagined let alone noticed.  
Within five minutes of being allowed to play with the holographic display he had almost overloaded the computer systems before finally sweeping his hands dramatically over seemingly unconnected data points and showing all assembled just how and where the forces of HYDRA had gotten in, and more importantly, where they were keeping Jackson.  
Fitz wanted to either marry or possibly adopt the boy; Phil wasn’t entirely sure which.

Lady Sif’s current exhaustion was not entirely due to Stiles; the boy and his friend Lydia seemed determined to wring every last scintilla of information from the warrior and their curiosity was both wide ranging and seemingly boundless.  
Sif was little help when it came to Stiles’ magic, since very few Asgardians had much talent in the arcane.  
Freya, Thor’s mother had been a healer of renown and Odin had many strange powers.  
Loki was really the only formidable caster in the realm, although Sif did recall that Idunn had been a powerful mage when it came to both potion making and plant growth.

It had been confirmed that Idunn, Goddess of Youth and Life, had disappeared from Asgard many, many years ago.  
Considering how long lived Asgardians were, that time frame (several hundred years) seemed daunting.  
Sif herself had been a child when the woman everyone suspected was Stiles’ mother had left in mysterious circumstances and she had very few personal memories of her. 

Talk amongst the citizens of Asgard was that she had either left willingly, as part of some complicated plot involving the Norns (also known as The Fates), or that she had been an early victim of a precocious and mischievous Loki who had somehow turned her into something (a bird, a tree, a human, the stories were varied and each wilder than the one before) either accidentally or for nefarious motives (depending on how much the person talking already disliked the prince) and no one had ever heard from her again.

The lack of information about his mother hadn’t stopped Stiles at all.  
He had latched on to mentions of Loki and gradually weaselled every scrap of gossip and truth about the God of Lies that he could in a few hours. Stiles had been both relieved and disappointed to learn that Loki’s fabled children were just that, fables. Sif had explained that the prince was in fact forbidden to have children. She wondered if Odin had not made that decree to prevent Loki’s true parentage becoming apparent if a child was born (only a select few of the court had learned of it since Loki himself had found out) or whether Odin’s insistence that there was a prophecy was correct.

That had sent the insatiable youth down another rabbit hole as he demanded to know the wording of the prophecy and what other prophecies might exist and who made these prophecies and how commonly they were used to formulate laws and...

No wonder Sif looked like she was about to cry.

Sif had finally begged off her punishment by contacting Heimdall and asking him to send some books of lore for Stiles to devour; that the All-Seeing one had decided to do so was still troubling Director Coulson.  
What were the Asgardians up to he wondered?  
Stiles had blinked at the explosion of light which accompanied the arrival of the stone-faced God and then his eyes had seen the collection of books and scrolls he carried. His face lit up like Christmas had come twice in a row. Warnings that the documents were all written in either runes or Old Norse had been waved off with an ‘I taught myself both of those weeks ago!’ and Lydia and Stiles had left to devour their treat.

Phil Coulson made a solemn vow to himself that Stiles Stilinski and Tony Stark must never, ever meet.  
The Universe might not survive both of them feeding off each other’s energy.

Luckily, the recovery mission seemed less complicated than feeding the black hole that was Stiles with sufficient knowledge. HYDRA had set up a base in one of the towns about an hour from Beacon Hills proper rather than spiriting their captive away to a hidden European base. A second stroke of luck had occurred when one of the HYDRA technicians had apparently found Lydia’s phone and attempted to hack into it to obtain information. The resulting alert had somehow gotten through whatever blocking field HYDRA had set up to foil trackers and Danny and Daisy working in tandem had been able to not only falsify enough information to convince the HYDRA agent that he or she was successfully raiding a data cloud but had been able to reverse the hack and get access to the computer the tech was using to hack the phone. They got a look at the contact lists for the base staff and the scheduled events for the next week or so before the hacker obviously got told to stop wasting time and the signal had been lost again as the computer was suddenly powered off.

Phil made a mental note to make sure Danny was on the list for recruiting new agents. He wondered if he should add Stiles or Lydia to that list, but the thought of either of them with even more power and access to knowledge stirred an atavistic shiver somewhere in the primitive part of Phil’s brain and he decided the world didn’t need that level of safety...  
Ever...

“Director, I’ve got a message for you from Mr Stilinski Junior.” May was being formal, so Stiles must be able to listen in to the call transfer.  
“Patch him through Agent May. I’ll put him on speaker.”  
“Hey Director Coulson! Is Sif there? I have something I need to ask her about!”

Sif managed not to groan out loud, but she did look as though she would rather be skinned alive.

“Lady Sif is indisposed at the moment Stiles, if you have an important question you could give it to me and I could ask her to respond to it later, when she is back.”  
“Oh no, I broke her didn’t I? I’m so sorry. I forgot to take my meds last night and again this morning, what with the dismemberment and HYDRA all; I can be a bit full on when I do that. I remembered just now when I took the evening dose. It’s not urgent, but if she’s around soon, could you ask her to see if there’s any way I can contact a specific Asgardian. Lydia and I found something in those scrolls Heimdall gave us that matched something in Mom’s book of recipes and... well... I need to confirm something that probably only one person can answer.”  
“I am here young warrior, who do you need me to contact?”  
“Well... it’s going to be tricky I suspect.”  
“Why?” Phil asked, getting nervous again.  
“How hard do you think it’s going to be to speak with Loki?”  
“I told you his involvement with your mother’s disappearance was only a vicious rumour.” Sif was puzzled and tired.

“Yeah, but that was before I found the note from him scribbled on a page in my Mom’s diary saying ‘Good Luck my dearest friend. I shall keep your secrets unto death. Should the child ever read this, contact me at once.’ The handwriting matches his from one of those scrolls and Mom never let anyone write in that book, not even me. She didn’t ever let it out of her sight until she got really sick in the end there so...Pretty sure it’s genuine.”

Phil Coulson swore internally and berated himself for making silly vows that the universe obviously wanted him to suffer from.

“And you’ve never seen this note until now?” He asked, puzzled.  
“Since I started changing I’ve been finding Mom’s book has more in it than I ever remembered, and I thought I knew this book backwards. Either the pages have only just appeared, or everyone just couldn’t see them before. Lydia couldn’t see this page until I pointed it out, and if I’m not touching her she still can’t see it. I think the book might be a lot older than I thought, and a lot bigger.”  
“I guess this means your need to speak with Loki is justifiable then.” Phil sighed, he hadn’t been in contact with the Asgardian Prince since... The Helicarrier.  
“Loki doesn’t strike me as the sort of person who would commit anything to writing unless it was really, really important.” Stiles said slowly “I’m sort of the same way. Secrets aren’t secret if you share them.”  
“Prince Loki is no longer a prisoner on Asgard” Sif said softly, “Although many think he was killed fighting alongside his brother against Malekith, in sooth his sentence was commuted by the All-Father and he is now on Midgard.”  
“Loki’s here? Well that simplifies things!” Stiles sounded far too happy for Phil’s liking.  
“I’ll contact the appropriate people and see how soon we can contact him.” Phil sighed. “Was that all?”

“Uhh... I do need to talk to Dr Simmons, about the DNA profile she’s been working up on me.”  
“She gave you a copy didn’t she?” Phil sighed audibly for the first time in years.  
“Eventually.” Stiles chirped “I need to ask an expert about some weird alleles she noted in some parts of my Y chromosome, as well as the X. She sent me a message about it but she’s not picking up so...”  
“I’m not a geneticist Stiles; can you explain it like you were explaining it to Scott?” Phil was definitely going to need an aspirin. “Wait, I’ll get her into this call, she’s probably got her phone on silent again. She does that when she and Fitz are deep in research mode.”

Within minutes Gemma was in the lounge and speaking to Stiles.

“Well... We’ve been keeping something back from you Dr Simmons that has probably meant you had no chance to work out what the anomalies mean. I know that was probably dumb but... It’s really personal and... Oh I’ll explain tonight when we meet up for the rescue but... basically, according to what I’ve worked out, I think I have more than one parent.”  
“Most people do Stiles.” Phil was getting a migraine, he never got migraines.  
“No, I mean, more than one of each.”  
“That’s... isn’t that impossible?”  
“I’m hoping so, otherwise I’m going to have to get a job to pay for presents come Mother’s Day,” Stiles sounded a little freaked out himself now that Phil was concentrating on his voice better “And it looks even weirder for Father’s Day so...”  
“That might explain the different RNA fragments” Gemma was nodding “So you’re not a hybrid like we thought, you’re a chimera!”  
“I’m assuming you mean a genetic salad rather than the three headed D&D monster?” Stiles sounded a little fragile.  
“You’re not a salad Stiles” Simmons sighed.  
“I’m part salad!”  
“Give me a little time to re-examine the sample, and the one from your father, and I’ll have more when you get here for the mission.”  
“I’ll make sure Gemma is here when you arrive Stiles. You’re due in two hours correct?”  
“Yes sir!”  
“I’ll know how long contacting Loki will take by then, I hope.”  
“Cool! I mean, Cool Sir!”

Phil liked the boy, despite himself.

“We’ll have body armour for you and your friends, so wear something simple that can go under it. T-shirts and boxer-briefs would be most comfortable. Do your forces need anything specific?”  
Phil felt strange asking a teenager if he and his friends needed weapons or tech support.

“No, it’s cool. Make sure the Alphas’ armour has at least a 20% stretch factor built into it, just in case they need to go into their Alpha forms. The Alpha form tends to be a bit big and Grr for normal clothing to handle, and Derek already had his allergy to shirts to deal with so... so... Oh, sorry, I got sidetracked! Um... Fitz has set Ally and Chris up with some versions of your Night-Night guns, and I’ll be bringing my bat so we’re set.”  
“You’re bringing a baseball bat to an assault on a HYDRA stronghold?” May had to interrupt at that point.  
“You’ve never seen me use my bat!” Stiles said quietly, “If I can rip someone’s arm off with my bare hands, what do you think I can do with three feet of magically charged wood in my hands? Plus Lydia had a few ideas so I’ve been trying out a few of Mom’s potions and making some surprises for our HYDRA buddies.”

Sif was starting to look more enthusiastic than she had for hours.

“Let us see tonight my young friend, let us see!”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
“We need to leave now.” 

Was all Stiles said as the pack rushed from where they had parked in the hanger the Bus was hidden in and into the cargo bay.  
The group was already stripping down and putting on the armour SHIELD had provided for them.

“What’s wrong?” Fitz asked as he helped adjust Isaac’s shoulder plates and tightened the straps properly.  
“I’m experiencing an increasing need to scream.” Lydia said as she tied her hair back with a matching scrunchy and fiercely added several pins to keep it perfect.

The SHIELD personnel were perplexed.

“Oh, that’s right!” Stiles exclaimed “We never got around to explaining Lydia did we! She’s a Banshee.”

Simmons seemed to know what that meant, as did Mack and both of their eyes widened a little as they looked at the petite girl strapping a large hunting knife to her leg.

“I feel like I should know what that is” Fitz said.  
“A Wailing Woman?” Sif asked, her face a mixture of incredulity and awe. “Amazing!”

She bowed respectfully to Lydia and spoke what sounded like a formal ritual.

“I honour you, Daughter of the Norns. May your sight be clear and your voice be heeded.”

Lydia blinked.

“Uh... thanks?”  
“This still doesn’t explain why...” May was always cranky before a mission.

“Lydia is a Banshee; they are a type of Fae, we think, who can predict the deaths or possible deaths of people of importance; either those she loves or people whose deaths will make a difference to the world. Usually she’s just been finding dead bodies until recently. We thought she might be psychic for a while but, no. Banshees can use their precognition to know when someone is in danger and hopefully, warn them or their allies to prevent the death. She can also hear and see dead people and bring creeper wolves back to life and stuff, but what is important right now is that about five minutes ago she started getting an urge to scream about Jackson. So he’s in trouble and we have to get there now.”  
“How long have we got?” Phil asked.  
“Based on past experience, about 30 minutes?” Lydia said tensely. “No longer.”  
“I’ll fly the Bus to just outside the base,” Mack said “The risk of them hearing us is better than the hour it would take to drive.”  
“Stiles, could you...?” Boyd asked and Erica started shaking her head no, frantically.

“Not this many. Not if I want to be conscious afterwards; possibly not if I want to keep breathing afterwards. I don’t know how close the currents run to the location anyway. I can do things without spells and stuff, but it takes a lot more energy than not cheating does. That’s why I keep borrowing Deaton’s books.”

Deaton just glared at the boy from where he and Melissa were helping Gemma set up a triage station.

“I’ll go get us off the ground.” Mack said with a look at May.  
She just rolled her eyes at him and, grumbling about ‘you’ll only be the pilot May’ and 'no need to go into combat May', started putting on her own body armour.  
Sif smiled at the small woman and began to stretch in preparation for battle.

During the short flight Stiles was adding to his armour with a strange belt, filled with pouches and a bandolier that seemed to be covered in bags, tiny clay balls and what looked like... balls of trail mix?

“Ok, I give up.” Scott finally said “You wouldn’t tell us anything about this stuff except ‘It’s a surprise’ but now we’re going to need to know, especially if you’re going to be throwing those things around. Are they explosives like Lydia has?”

Phil and May spun to look at the Banshee who smiled sweetly at them and revealed the tiny glass vials she was carefully popping into her own bandolier.  
Fitz just looked like he wanted to know how she got them so small.

“You know how I can make plants grow Scotty?” Stiles said as he finished his preparations and moved over to Derek for some pre-battle snuggles. “Like, I can make an apple seed germinate and grow into a fairly large sapling in under an hour, but it knocks me out for a day.”

Scott nodded, remembering the day in question, and the panic attack Derek had had.

“Well, Mom had a couple of potions in her book that I found recently, and I tried them out. It takes just a tiny touch of my power to activate them, and the effects should be pretty spectacular. No booms or bangs though, I promise!”

He slipped his bat into a sheath on his back and turned back to Derek for more snuggling.

“According to the plans of the building Daisy managed to find from City Records, there’s a huge number of power cables around and headed into the lower levels, especially the basement. I suspect this is one of HYDRA’s older facilities that they’ve reactivated recently. Jackson is almost certainly down in the basement, but we can’t assume that.” 

Phil was feeling odd briefing a group that included so many teenagers.

“Chris, Scott, Erica and Boyd; you’re with May. There’s only one entrance to the building, and it’s guarded too well, so we’re going to be making our own way in using an old emergency exit that they’ve bricked over. Derek assures me that the wolves can get through a lot more quietly than an explosive charge, or even Daisy could, so we’ll still have some element of surprise. When we get in, your team is to go up and check and clear the levels above us.”

May and her team nodded.

“Daisy, Sif, Derek, Peter and Stiles; you’re to go down once we’re in and secure the basement. Daisy is in charge, ok?”

Derek and Sif both nodded, neither of them had experience leading this kind of mission anyway and they understood the importance of having the most experienced person as leader.

“Isaac, Allison. Aiden, Ethan and Lydia, you’re with me, holding the ground level and making sure we can get back out again. Aiden and Isaac, you’re backup team one, Ethan and Allison; you’re team two; I realise this splits up the twins, but we’ll have an Alpha in each team then. Your task is to help us clear the ground level, then stay with us until or unless one of the other teams calls for backup or they find Jackson and need help. Lydia, that means you and I might have to guard the exit point on our own.”

Lydia rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

“Not a problem.”  
“Does everyone have their limpets?” Phil asked, holding up the small electronic devices Fitz and Daisy had come up with. “If you see a computer, especially if you find a server station or something, activate the limpet and attach it as close as you can to a hard drive or similar. Danny, you’ll be here with Fitz waiting for them to activate; download as much information as you can to the isolated server, and try to shut off or at least confuse their communications and defence systems, ok?”

Danny and Fitz nodded.

“Mack will stay in the pilot’s seat to get us out when we’re done. Gemma, you’re in charge of Triage if we need it.”

They felt the plane descending; everyone felt the strange static on their skins which meant Mack was operating under the cloak.  
There was nothing more to say.

“Last chance to pee!” Of course Stiles had to say something.  
.  
.  
.  
They stood in front of the bricked up entrance.  
It was a lot more solid than expected; too solid for the wolves.  
Disabling the cameras trained on it had only taken Danny a second.

“I could try shaking it loose?” Daisy said uncertainly “But I think unless I go so hard they’d hear and feel it in San Diego, all I’m going to do is make a couple of cracks in it.”

Stiles grinned. It was surprisingly disturbing, Phil thought.

“I only need a couple of cracks!” he said, reaching into a belt pouch to retrieve... a handful of weeds?

Daisy had obviously worked his plan out, because she grinned back at him and seconds later, sent a tiny pulse of her energy at the bricks of the door, managing to crack several without alerting the people inside the building.  
Stiles carefully, almost tenderly, placed several of the weeds into a crack each.  
Phil realised that each plant was still intact, their roots protected from drying out by some sort of gel.  
Stiles then retrieved a small atomiser from another belt pouch and sprayed each plant, whispering what sounded like endearments and encouragements to each tiny weed as he did so.  
Phil raised an eyebrow at him.

“They say plants grow better if you talk to them.” Stiles grinned and winked then motioned everyone to step back.

Within seconds each weed had begun to grow at an unnatural rate, its roots sinking in between the bricks and their leaves multiplying and spreading.  
Stiles, a look of fierce concentration on his face, had conjured a handful of tiny suns that were obviously providing the ivy plants with the light they needed.

“This is so much easier in the daytime,” the boy grunted with effort “Lyds, remind me to pick up a couple of UV lamps next time I go to RadioShack.”

Within a few minutes the ivy had undergone years of growth and the doorway was no longer visible.  
With a final grunt of effort Stiles seemed to concentrate directly on the plants and there was the tiniest sound, barely audible even to the wolves.  
It was as if a clump of dirt had just been crumbled to dust by a gardener’s hand.  
Stiles swayed and might have fallen if Derek hadn’t already wrapped an arm around him.  
Lydia handed the boy a bar of chocolate and began to move towards the thick wall of ivy.

“Daisy.” Stiles mumbled as he waved his free arm at the wall. Lydia nodded and stepped back.

Daisy sent another wave of vibrations at the bricks.  
They crumbled to dust, leaving the old door exposed at last.  
The ivy had spread to cover half the wall now, so the loss of its original foothold meant little to it.

“Hooray for us salad!” Stiles mumbled, smearing chocolaty lip-prints across Derek’s shirt, obviously still a little lightheaded.

Phil had never quite understood Simmons’ talk about ‘plant RNA mixed with the telomerase’ and ‘evidence of teratogenic mutagens’ but the evidence of this young boy’s power was truly remarkable. 

“He’ll be all right in a minute,” Lydia said, giving Stiles a protein energy bar this time, “When he does something like this it just plays merry hell with his blood sugar; really draining things seem to sap his energy in a much more serious way. We learned by trial and error unfortunately, most of the error being from Stiles of course.”

Stiles made a plaintive whine of protest as he snatched the bar from her fingers and began to nibble. He was already looking better.

“Teams ready?” Phil said, “They’ll probably have some sort of motion sensor in the corridor, so the alarm will go out as soon as we move in. The stairs up are to the right at the end of this corridor. The basement stairs are somewhere to the left on the original plans. It’s unlikely to be drastically different, but keep an eye out. Are you feeling ready Stiles?”

Stiles nodded and unsheathed his bat.

“Then go.”  
.  
.  
.  
It had been chaos within minutes of them entering.  
The ground floor was fairly sparsely patrolled so there was little work for the backup teams to do except wait and try to follow the progress of the other teams over their headsets. 

Chris and May had found a rhythm between each other and were actually taking out more of the enemy than the wolves.  
It was about five minutes into their incursion that the upstairs team discovered a nasty surprise.  
Chris’s voice came over the headsets, flushed but not in full panic.

“Guys, we’ve got HYDRA agents here who are wolves. Erica says they reek of Ennis and Boyd thinks they’ve been turned within the last week or so. No Alphas yet, just betas.”  
“I guess that explains where Kali got her backup for the attack on Derek then.” Stiles growled over the comm.  
“Scott, use your Alpha roar on them” Derek offered, “Even if it doesn’t make them submit, it will make them flinch so Chris can shoot them.”

The only response was an echoing roar that luckily the noise regulating software of the headsets minimised in time to avoid perforated eardrums. 

“Scott! Turn your mike off first pea brain!” Erica roared herself.

Coulson told everyone to be alert for more wolves and again thanked whatever deity had led Stiles to insist everyone have at least a handful of Wolfsbane bullets on their person and that the humans had enough Mountain Ash to make a circle big enough to trap at least four wolves.  
The basement team had met several well armed groups on their trip down the stairs; the revelation that an even lower level seemed to have been excavated at some time that wasn’t on the plans spoiled everyone’s day though.

“Coulson” Daisy made a snap decision “I need backup down here, I’m going to have to split the team. One group will clear this level, the other will continue down.”  
“Who were you planning on losing?” Phil asked.  
“Either Sif or Peter, Derek isn’t about to let Stiles go into danger without him there is he?”  
“Keep Sif, she’s the stronger fighter; retrieving Jackson is important, but losing Stiles would be even worse. Plus Peter has a more devious mind so he’ll be better at coping with these rats. He should lead.” 

Chris Argent’s advice was both timely and welcome.

“I agree” Phil said “Team One...”  
“No!” Stiles said forcefully, “Make it Allison and Ethan, having a team made only of wolves is just asking for someone to use Mountain Ash of their own on them, having a human on the team is just sensible.”

Coulson nodded and bowed to the boy’s greater experience with wolves.

“I’ll meet you just off the stairwell to the right Allison and Ethan.” Peter sounded more serious than he had for a long time “And Chris, I’ll keep her safe.”  
“I know you will Dumb Ass.”

Derek and Stiles looked at each other at the strange tone in Chris’ voice and... decided not to ever think about it again.

Once it was confirmed that Peter’s new team was together and moving the four left for the Basement mission worked out how to get down to the next level.  
The stairs sounded like they were filled with guards and the elevators had all be disabled, of course.  
So they took the elevator the quick way anyway.  
Daisy blasted a hole in the floor then Sif, Derek and Stiles jumped down the shaft.  
Then Daisy jumped and her trust that one of the three would catch her was of course rewarded.  
Derek caught her.

“This game of Parchment, Boulder and Shears is harder to win than I thought.” Sif sighed “I was certain that Stiles with his love of books would choose the obvious, and since Derek loves Stiles so much, he would not want to risk harming him even in a game but...”  
“They outwitted you?” Daisy asked. 

The elevator doors were solid enough to stop sound from alerting the guards waiting outside.

“While Stiles was explaining the rules and strategies to me, Derek just stepped into the shaft and called you down.”

Phil, hearing this over the headset managed not to laugh.

“Ok, I can hear about a dozen out there” Derek rumbled “What’s the plan? We can only fit two across in this doorway, so who is in front?”  
“I’ll blast the door out” Daisy said, “That should take care of the front row.”  
“I’ve got a few little tricks I want to try” Stiles added, “Once Daisy and I have done our thing, we’ll drop to the floor and you two can jump over us, sound like fun Sourwolf?”  
“Your mind is both trickster and warrior young Stiles” Sif’s praise was spontaneous and heartfelt, “You are truly the best of all Asgard in one man.”

Stiles tried to fight the blush but failed.  
Derek just grinned.  
Daisy was struck by how young he looked when he smiled.

“Ready? On three... one... two... three!”

She used her Inhuman powers and basically crumpled the entire elevator door and threw it at the backs of the large group of armoured guards who were arranged to ambush anyone coming down the stairs.  
Four of them went down with head injuries that meant they would not be getting up in a hurry.  
The rest of the guards turned at the noise behind them, some of them were even fast enough to bring their weapons to bear.  
Stiles was faster though.  
He threw several of his trail mix balls at the assembled fighters and followed his throw with a wave of his power.  
Then he dropped to the floor beside Daisy as Sif and Derek leapt over them with twin roars of combat.

Derek and Sif were deep in their battles, but even so they were able to see what Stiles’ magic had wrought.  
Each ball seemed to be made of a different mix of seeds, all soaked in some potion which promoted almost instantaneous growth.  
Some of the HYDRA personnel were lucky and were merely bound by long loops of thick vines.  
Others found themselves wrapped in stems and runners encrusted with thorns up to four inches long, and razor sharp.  
There was a lot of screaming.

“Remind me never to piss you off” Daisy said as she helped Stiles to his feet and they watched Sif and Derek take out the remaining guards.  
“I can hear something this way” Derek said, wiping blood off his claws before retracting them.

Sif shook her sword clean and then shook her head at the wolf.

“Where do your eyebrows go friend Derek?” She asked.  
“See!” Stiles exclaimed “I told you that’s the first question everyone wants to know!”  
“Stiles! Focus!” Lydia’s voice came over the headset. “And hurry, my feeling is getting worse, and Phil and I have had to send Team One up to help May deal with the last of the HYDRA wolves. We need to get out soon.”

They hurried.  
Sif readied her sword, Derek wolfed out again, Daisy drew her gun and Stiles had his bat in one hand and a small red bag in the other.

It was only a few corridors later that they found what Stiles later described as ‘the stereotypical mad-scientist’s evil laboratory’.  
There were several guards in the room, their guns trained on the open door.  
The door was at the top of a long winding ramp down to the room proper, about thirty feet below.  
It was a perfect trap.

Jackson was lying on what could only be described as an operating gurney, obviously awake but paralysed by something.  
He was naked and bleeding from several long incisions.  
The man leaning over him paused with the scalpel just over his eye and smiled at the intruders.

“Come in. No sudden moves or our young friend here will discover that even a wolf’s healing cannot save you from a scalpel cutting the brain stem.”

“Is this the part where you deliver the evil overlord’s traditional plot exposition before laughing maniacally and then leaving us to be disposed of by your minions?” Stiles was talking before anyone else could stop him “Oh, hi there minions by the way!” He waved.  
“Stiles!” Daisy said crossly “These are HYDRA soldiers, they don’t do plot exposition, they just talk about how glorious the world will be when everyone is chained under their feet, yada yada yada, then they have to say their catch phrase before being blown up or defeated by the good guys.”

“Your inane babble is meaningless!” The man in the surgical coat sneered “You can never defeat HYDRA! Cut off one head and...”

“Is that the catchphrase?” Stiles asked with scorn “That’s so lame!”  
“I know! I keep hoping they’ll change it sometime, maybe an online poll?” Daisy liked this kid. “But they never do.”  
“It must be a generational thing, old people get so set in their ways.”  
“Well they have been around for a long time.”  
“You’d think they’d do something about that logo too, I mean, I’m not saying it looks a little like an octopus with an itch, but it is a bit... seafood restaurantish...”  
“I’ve always thought that they are lucky H.P. Lovecraft’s family or estate hasn’t sued them yet, I mean...”  
“I noticed that too! I suppose the whole secret organisation is the only thing that’s stopped them...”

“Stop this! Stop this at once!” the base leader screamed, his scalpel quivering only inches from Jackson’s right eye.

“You’re right!” Stiles agreed before turning back to Daisy, “Just checking, he has said the thing hasn’t he?”  
“He finished it ages ago but neither of you were listening.” Derek deadpanned.  
“I just want to do this the traditional way.” Stiles smiled.

The man with the scalpel was getting red in the face.

“Shoot them! Kill them all! Damn the plan! I want them dead!”

Daisy sent a powerful blast of energy at the gun men, knocking them off their feet and making their shots miss the group in the doorway.  
Sif and Derek leapt over the ramp entirely, landing among the felled gunmen.  
Stiles... 

No one saw him move.

Before the man with the scalpel could even register it, his hand was being forced away from the boy on the gurney by a slender arm that held more strength than he had ever encountered before.  
He managed to pull a strange device from his coat though.  
Before he could use it against anyone, Stiles had pressed the red bag into the man’s chest and stood back.  
Within seconds thorny vines covered the man from head to toe, making it impossible for him to do anything but breathe (shallow breaths only) and speak.

“Fool! This device is voice activated, and I am lying right beside the liquid nitrogen tanks! Forty thousand gallons of liquid cold; meet your death! Activation sequence HYDRA one, four, crimson, seven, altitude, Snow White, Hail Hydra!”  
Stiles grimaced. “Oops!”

Sif grabbed Daisy and leapt to the doorway in one bound.  
Derek was heading for Stiles when Stiles turned and basically threw the gurney at him.  
Derek caught it as Stiles screamed.

“Get out idiot! I’ll be ok!”

Derek did what he thought he would never do again, and trusted someone utterly.

Sif caught them as Derek leapt for the door and the tank containing the nitrogen cracked and spilled its freezing liquid over the entire room. Within seconds the room was filled with mist as the moisture in the air above the liquid nitrogen condensed into thick clouds.

“Is he out? Did he get out?” Derek demanded over his headset.  
“Derek” Lydia’s voice was thick with emotion “There are no telluric currents below this building. Stiles still needs them to do his travelling thing.”

Derek fought against his wolf going rabid.

“Derek! Derek! Listen to me!” It was Lydia still “Derek! I’m not screaming. I don’t feel the need to scream for him, he must be alive!”

Derek felt the madness recede a little, but not much.  
There was a huge roar from the mists below.  
It didn’t sound like Stiles.  
Derek tried to go to him, but Sif held him back.

“Foolish wolf! You would freeze in an instant. Even I could not survive that much cold.”

Derek felt the madness rushing back.  
Another agonised scream came from the room, Derek was going to go mad not knowing...

“Daisy! Can you move the mists?”

Daisy shrugged and decided to try.  
She couldn’t do much more than agitate them a little, but that was enough.  
The mists thinned a little as the movement caused it to rain.  
Where Stiles should have been standing was... 

His armour was in tatters, frozen and shattered no doubt, and his clothes were... gone.

It had to be Stiles, the face was basically the same, the same features, but his hair was...  
mostly gone...  
His skin...  
Derek felt confusion warring with anguish.  
Stiles, if it was Stiles, raised his head to them.

“Drrrkk!” the creature called, its red eyes glowing through the mists brighter than any werewolf’s.  
“Stiles?”

The being looked around as the liquid nitrogen continued to spill from the tank and even the metal of the railings and fixtures of the room began to crack and crumble from the extreme cold.  
It looked at the remains of the armour and clothing that clung to its skin...  
to HIS skin...

“Drrrkk? M Buuuu?” It said through sharp, vicious teeth. “Wyyy M I Buuuu?”

It...  
Stiles...  
Stiles looked at his arms and torso, noting the strange swirling patterns of runes and scars that seemed to be part of his flesh, not additions to it.  
He noticed the still gushing liquid nitrogen cascading from the cracked cylinder and let the liquid run over his fingers.

“Tklllsss!” Stiles may have giggled, it was hard to tell “Tld uuu I wddd beee ookaaay”  
“Stiles?” Derek felt hope flickering deep inside him.  
“Wyyy M I Buuuu SssrrrrWfffff?”  
“Stiles, can you climb up the ramp? Just enough to get out of the liquid.” Daisy said calmly.

Stiles nodded, and with a couple of sloshing steps was at the base of the concrete ramp.

“Just a couple of feet up Stiles, don’t get too close to us yet, you’re really cold just now, and minus 320 degrees might not be safe for us.”

Stiles just took a single step halfway up the rise. It was easy when you were almost twenty feet tall.

“What’s happening?” Phil called out “Do you need back up?”  
“We might need another way out.” Daisy replied “I don’t think Stiles is going to fit in the corridors anymore.”  
“What has happened?” Phil used his Director voice.  
“I think our need to contact Loki just gained several more levels of urgent Sir.” Daisy responded.  
“Why? What is wrong with Stiles?”  
“Nothing is wrong Son of Coul,” Sif said, her eyes still wide with shock, “He seems to be in quite remarkable health, for a Frost Giant so far from Jotunheim.”

“Uhhhhh Shhhhttt!” Stiles swore. “Fkkkk Myyyyy Lyyyffff!”  
“You said it Stiles” Derek sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't jump to too many conclusions, it's more complicated than you think, but one of the characters (actually a few of them pieced together) have actually explained it already, sort of.  
> Oh, and Lydia will figure out how to get the out as soon as she's had a chance to think. (Hint, the 40, 000 gallon tank of LN2 had to get in there somehow)  
> (also not even Hydra are dumb enough to have NO emergency way out for the big wigs)


	14. The Family Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls have a nice day out  
> The have a nice lunch (with bonus violence!)  
> They get to meet Erica's favourite celebrity  
> The boys are domestic  
> Jackson is a douche  
> Stiles is a wreck  
> Loki is nice, but breaks people

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first two bits of this are fairly normal (and I know the violence is gratuitous, but it helps make up for the last section)  
> The last bit is very wordy (I know ok!) and violates one of my other cardinal rules  
> "Show, don't tell!"  
> Trouble is, sometimes you HAVE to tell, because it's about the telling. Luckily it turns out Loki is a WAY better storyteller than me, and he took over that bit so I could just relax and listen to his cultured tone (he was a lot nicer than I thought he'd be too)  
> Oh, and Odin is such a shithead. Stiles is going to have words.  
> I'm thinking the next chapter is probably the last in this bit, but if things go awry I might have to add another to mend things.   
> OH! Important! In the start of the last section I am trying something. Two conversations basically happening across each other. One set has the speaker labelled, the other set it's up to you to try to guess who just spoke (it should be easy, they all have a line each until Stiles starts speaking more)  
> Comments would be wonderful, they really help me get the oomph to keep going

“What do you think of this colour?”

Erica was holding up a gorgeous red halter top. It looked like silk.   
Cora giggled and nodded vigorously at Erica.

“Red isn’t really your colour Erica,” Melissa said slowly “I thought you preferred black anyway?”  
“It’s not for me!” Erica said with a laugh, “It’s for Stiles.”

Sif paused as she was rejoining the group; she was sure she’d finally gotten the hang of gender identity and fashions in this age. 

“Ooh! Let’s see!” Allison exclaimed as she noticed the warrior.

Sif felt quite strange, but also strangely comfortable in the outfit Lydia had chosen for her to try.   
The colour was not that unusual for her, a deep rich green, almost black with a metallic shimmer through it, but on those rare occasions when she wore a dress, it was usually the traditional, floor length full skirted style of Asgard. This skirt clung to her thighs and ended just an inch above her knees.   
As Lydia had been at pains to point out though, the short split in the left side allowed for ease of movement, and gave an excellent point of access to any knife sheathed on that leg.   
The plunging neckline was a little more disconcerting, but that might just be because Sif always felt over exposed without several layers of metal protecting her vital organs.   
Still... the odd device Lydia had helped her put on under the dress certainly kept her breasts from moving in a distracting manner. Allison had pointed out that the wire in it made an excellent lock-pick or garrotte in emergencies.

“Oh yes!” Lydia said as she came back from somewhere in the store. “That colour is really good on you.” 

She offered Sif a long, soft scarf made of some sort of fine wool.   
It was the same colour as the shoes she had made her wear; a dark russet, the colour of semi-dried blood.   
Sif had taken a few minutes to get used to the elevated heels though.   
She would need to practice swordplay in them before she felt confident to wear them into battle but until then she would just slip them off if she needed to fight.

“Erica, please tell me that top isn’t for you.” Lydia’s voice was crisp and concerned.  
“I was thinking of a present for Stiles.”

Lydia thought for a moment and then nodded.

“He needs a couple of pretty things for whenever he feels like dressing up” she smiled at Sif’s confusion, “Stiles has recently been introduced to the fun of gender-bending. Remember the man we met this morning at the hairdressers?”

Sif nodded, he had been most helpful and truly an excellent barber.   
She touched her new short ‘bob’.

“Well, that’s one of Stiles’ drag queen friends; He moved to LA a few weeks ago, but Stiles still stays in touch. During the week he dresses as a man, but on weekends Mark likes to dress in fancy dresses and heels and call himself Ella VaLay.”  
“Ah!” Sif understood feelings of love between men or women for their own sex, although the cross-dressing thing was new to her. It did explain the pronoun confusion this morning.  
“In that case, I believe Stiles will appreciate that top.” She offered “The colour is marvellous for his skin tone and the material looks particularly soft and pleasant to touch.”  
“Not to mention that Derek will love the way it exposes a lot of Stiles, who is also particularly soft and pleasant to touch!”

Erica was wicked sometimes.

“Please! That’s my brother you are talking about. It’s bad enough having to smell them both.”  
“Do you like the dress Sif?” Melissa asked.  
“I do” Sif smiled “And this scarf is both warm and offers alternatives to making the outfit more or less formal.”  
“It’s called a Pashmina” Lydia explained “Let’s go pay for our stuff, then lunchtime!”  
“I cannot buy this” Sif exclaimed “I do not have any of your currency on me. Simmons the Doctor has been most helpful in explaining to me how the concept underpins most of your society, but I fear I do not possess any currency.”  
“My treat!” Lydia grinned “And you can’t refuse! I get more pleasure buying things for other people than I do buying things for myself, and I have lots of my Dad’s money, so it’s not like I’m expending a finite resource is it? Well, not finite enough to worry about a few tiny things from Dior.”

“Are we meeting the boys for lunch?” Allison missed Scott terribly; it had been almost four whole hours.  
“No, we have make-overs booked at Elizabeth Arden at two. I’m not letting them see us until tonight, it would spoil the effect.”  
“Besides, the boys are back in Beacon Hills” Melissa pointed out, “and however Lydia managed to convince Heimdall to use the Bifrost to get us to LA for a girls’ day out; I’m not sure he’d appreciate us taking him for granted.”

Sif agreed with the woman. Her shock at Lydia’s request to the Gatekeeper of Asgard had only been exceeded by her shock when he had smiled (actually SMILED) at the girl and agreed.   
That meant Odin must have already told him to help the group from Midgard.   
Perhaps it was Lydia’s status as an awakened Banshee, but Sif was troubled. Stiles had become very firmly lodged in the warrior woman’s heart and she was intelligent enough to know that the All-Father did nothing without a reason. Indeed, the only beings she knew who had more wheels within wheels in their thinking were Fury (He who had once led SHIELD) and Prince Loki.

Sif changed back into the outfit Lydia had brought for her to wear that morning.   
The soft material of the slacks was a joy to move in.   
Sif was itching to try out a few katas to see how easy it was to fight in this ‘suit of jump’.   
She still couldn’t understand why the shoes were called by that word meaning ‘to talk with’, it was most confusing.  
.  
.  
.  
Lunch had been most enjoyable and even though the staff had seemed slightly alarmed at the amount Sif, Cora and Erica had managed to eat, it was a high end establishment so nothing was mentioned.   
The colour of Lydia’s credit card probably helped too.   
The girls were just grabbing their things in preparation for teaching Sif about mani/pedis when a group of armed men burst into the dining room and shouted at the room full of diners. 

“Nobody move! This is a nice simple robbery people. Just line up and hand over your jewellery and wallets to us and no one needs to get hurt. You can go home with an exciting story to blog about and claim your insurance. Or if you want to cause trouble, your next of kin can read your obituaries in the society pages; your choice.”

Everyone rapidly complied, even the Beacon Hills group after Lydia hissed ‘wait’ to them.

Sif and Allison soon saw what Lydia had noticed already.   
The robbers, however well thought out their basic plan was, were foolishly bunching up, leaving only one person near the door to cover the room as a whole with his gun.   
The rest were still ready with their weapons (apart from the two who were collecting the loot) but they were in such proximity to each other that they would be unable to threaten anywhere in the room but directly in front of themselves without getting in each others’ line of fire.

“Amateurs!” Allison huffed under her breath.

“When I give the signal Melissa, hit the floor. Erica and Cora put in those earplugs that Stiles gave you please, do it as you remove your earrings. Sif, you take the right and Erica the left, Cora you take the middle group. Allison...?”   
“I can get the door guy from here.” Allison said with confidence.

There was no more time as the leader and his men had reached them.

“Good afternoon Ladies,” the leader seemed confident and despite his mask Lydia estimated his age to be mid thirties. “Please put everything in the bags and move slowly.”  
“You won’t get away with this” Lydia said, looking him in the eye.  
“What’s that around your neck sexy?” the man’s demeanour became a little harsher “In the bag it goes.”

Lydia pulled the gold chain out to reveal a simple house key hanging from it.

“Can I at least take the key off?”  
“No, in the bag.” The man’s veneer of politeness was definitely wearing thin.

Lydia glared coldly at him and he moved his gun to push it against her chest.

“I’ll scream.” Lydia smiled at him. It was almost as disturbing as one of Stiles’ smiles.

“Go ahead sweetie.”  
“If you insist.”

Lydia screamed, right into his face.   
The gunmen, due to their bunching up, were directly in her line of fire. The leader and the men either side of him fell to the floor, blood pouring from their ears as every window cracked across and every glass on the tables nearby shattered.   
Erica, Cora and Sif were already in motion, not bothering to draw weapons (or claws) they simply bludgeoned the men into unconsciousness.   
Erica added a few loud ‘hyiahs!” as she did so and the occasional karate-like gesture in some strange attempt to convince people she was a black belt or something.   
Cora was rolling her eyes at the wolf hard enough to sprain something. 

The gunman by the door froze for a vital couple of seconds, confused by the explosions of glassware and the collapse of his leader. As he remembered the gun in his hands it was too late. Allison’s throwing knives hit him, one in either shoulder, causing him to drop his gun. The third knife hit him in the forehead, hilt first, knocking his head back into the pillar of the door and dazing him. By the time he could see clearly again she was already at his throat with the stem of a broken wineglass she had snatched from a table on the way at his throat and her Disney princess smile on.

“I’m already going to lose those two knives to the police for evidence; I’m not wasting another one. This will be just as effective, although it would hurt a lot more. I just hate causing unnecessary pain though, so please... freeze you shithead.”

The staff and patrons of the restaurant were still in shock when the police arrived some minutes later, followed almost at the same time by a woman in a black suit who whispered something to the officer in charge.   
The policeman swore and quickly took the list provided by the woman in the suit.   
Then he waved the Beacon Hills girls out of the room.

“But Lieutenant...” one of the uniforms started to protest.  
“Don’t start with me Jenson, please. Today is a bad day to start with me.” 

Lydia gathered her posse up and smiled sweetly at the manager as she left.

“Sorry about the glassware, I added a thousand to the tip, it should cover it!”

The manager just nodded and smiled back at her.

“It was ok my dear, but thank you for your kindness. I moved here from New York after the Alien incursion because my husband thought it would be safer for us. To tell you the truth, I’ve kind of missed the occasional super hero popping in. Please feel welcome to come back next time you’re in town.”

They left the place and turned to Lydia in shock.

“I called Daisy as soon as they were down. We will have to give our official statements to Coulson,” she said “But there is no way I am missing my appointment. My T-zone is in desperate need of moisture.”

They noticed that the woman who had ‘rescued’ them was still there. She smiled as they turned to her.

“Tell Phil he owes me another one!” she said cheerfully. “Luckily my West Coast office is near here and I just printed off the list and the letter he sent me and raced down. I’m not even going to ask how he knew I was in LA this week. Now you said you had an appointment at Elizabeth Arden? My office is on the way, it’s an easy walk, come on!”  
“You’re not the local SHIELD officer?” Melissa asked politely as they strolled the two blocks.  
“Oh no, I do favours for them now and then, but I keep refusing their attempts to recruit me. I’m actually a lawyer and usually I work out of New York, but I go where the work needs me. It’s a good profession if you like travelling; all I need is my wits and a set of impressive shoes.”

Lydia and the rest found themselves liking this woman.

“Oh, how rude of me! My name is Jennifer, Jennifer Walters.”

She offered her business card and they each shook her hand.   
Erica and Cora hesitated a little before they did so.

“Is something wrong?” Jennifer asked.  
“Erica?” Lydia was alert.  
“It’s nothing, sorry I was just...”  
“If Phil Coulson is willing to do you a favour so quickly, you must be special. Plus there’s what happened at the restaurant and of course, the fact that he called ME and not the local SHIELD agent...”  
“I’m not sure...” Lydia began.  
“Let me guess, Erica; you and Cora have some sort of super sensory ability? Scent probably; or low level telepathy? And there’s something not quite ‘normal’ about me, is there?”

Erica just nodded.  
Jennifer smiled. 

“I’m afraid I already know your names and addresses, from the list Phil sent me, but I don’t need to know all your secrets, well, not unless you need a criminal defence lawyer; but here’s my secret. It’s not exactly a secret anyway, hang on a second. Just come off the street into the lobby, I promise it’s safe.”

Once in the relative privacy of the lobby she took off her jacket and her shoes, and then startled them all by beginning to remove her skirt.

“Sorry, normally I just wear stretchy things, or things I don’t care if I rip them, but I had a lunch meeting of my own and this is Vintage Chanel so...”

Standing in the T-shirt and the leotard she’d had on under the stylish suit blazer she smiled at them again and then seemed to concentrate for a second.   
Standing in front of them suddenly was an enormous woman, almost seven feet tall with green skin.

“Oh my goodness, you’re She Hulk!” Erica gushed “Stiles is never going to believe this! You are my favourite real life superhero, and my second favourite comic book character!”  
“Who’s your favourite?” Jennifer pouted theatrically. “Who’s my competition?”  
“Catwoman!” Allison, Melissa and Lydia all said in unison.  
“Well... I can’t fault your taste there.”  
“Lydia Martin, Banshee” said Lydia, offering her hand again.  
“Erica Reyes, Werewolf.” Erica flashed her eyes and let her claws and teeth peek just a little.  
“Cora Hale, also a Werewolf.”  
“Melissa McCall, boring human I’m glad to say, and not a hero in the slightest.”  
“Oh please!” Erica snorted “You’re a nurse for Christ’s sake! If nurses aren’t ALL heroes then I know nothing about life at all!”  
“She has a point there Melissa!” Jennifer smiled again, “I think you guys are the best kind of heroes.”

Melissa blushed as everyone agreed, even Sif.

“I’m Allison Argent, human. My family have been Werewolf Hunters for hundreds of years so I’m well trained but not a super hero.”  
“Try explaining that stance to Hawkeye if you ever meet him sister!” Jennifer laughed. “And Werewolf Hunter? What about...?”

Allison looked at where Jennifer was pointing (at Erica and Cora) and grinned.

“Oooh! I finally found one! Yay!”

Everyone giggled at that.

“Green Woman, I am Lady Sif of Asgard. Are you perchance related to the green warrior known as Hulk?”  
“Is it the same name thing or do we just all look alike to you?” Jennifer teased, “Bruce is my cousin. It’s sort of his fault that I’m this way, but since the alternative would be being dead, and this bod is pretty kickass I’m not objecting.”  
“I wouldn’t either” Erica purred as she blatantly checked out She Hulk’s butt.  
“Erica!” Cora was blushing, but she was also checking She Hulk out.  
“It must be hell trying to find clothes and makeup to go with that green though.” Lydia said.  
“It is a little, but it’s also such a definite colour that it simplifies a lot of choices for you.”  
“Would you like to join us in our makeover?” Erica asked “I’m sure they can fit in one more.”  
Jennifer thought about it.   
“Well... I do have reports to finish filing... but then again, I’ve never had a makeover in this form before...”

“I’d better call them and tell them to reinforce one of the massage tables.” Lydia already had her phone out.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Stiles had gone past nervous and hyperactive about two hours ago and was heading into uncharted psychological waters now.   
Even Derek had snapped at him more than once after he had decided to vacuum the living room rug for the fourth time.

“Stiles, it’s unlikely we’re even going to do more than walk through this room on the way to the back. Plus it was clean after the first time you vacuumed; which was after Danny had already vacuumed. All you’re doing now is wearing the threads out and getting on everyone’s last nerve!”  
“Just because I want to be able to be proud of my home...”  
“If you’re going to obsess about something, why aren’t you out the back trying to make the garden look perfect or something?” Jackson was tired of moving the sofa backwards and forwards, even if it weighed even less when Isaac was helping and he could easily lift it by himself anyway.

“Stiles!”

Sherriff Stilinski’s voice sounded aggravated even coming from outside.

“Stiles! Why are there several hundred small trees and shrubs wandering aimlessly around my backyard seemingly attempting to spell out something across the lawn in Old Norse runes?”  
“I’ll be there in a minute Dad!”  
“Make them leave now! We don’t need banners or statuary Stiles. We certainly don’t need a choreographed forest! These people are going to accept us for who we are or not, and if they need us to make a fuss over them then I don’t think I want to impress them.”

Derek drew a shaking Stiles into his arms and held him until the boy stopped shaking.

“Stiles, you don’t need to try; just being you is all you ever need. Loki may have known your Mom, but he’s just one guy. Maybe he knows a lot of important things about you and her, but you don’t need to try to buy him or wow him. Like your Dad says, you should be enough for anyone. Even if he’s a jerk to you, then that just says everything about him and nothing about you.”  
“You’re using so many words Sourwolf!” Stiles said into Derek’s chest.

“Can we put this down now?” Isaac asked gingerly from the other end of the sofa.  
“I’m sorry guys, I’m just...” Stiles was trying to stay calm.  
“It’s cool!” Isaac gave him a hug of his own “We’re all here for you Mom.”  
“Stop calling me Mom!”  
“Stiles...” Jackson so rarely used Stiles’ ‘first name’ that everyone looked at him, “It’s going to be OK. I understand what you’re feeling, a little anyway. If I could meet my biological parents, or someone who knew them then I’d be nervous too. But Derek is right; you’re the cool one here. He’s just some Asgardian Prince, and they have at least two of those! You’re unique, you’re one of a kind, you’re a special...”  
“Don’t you dare say it Jackass!”  
“...Snowflake!” Jackson grinned evilly “And thanks to Danny, we have the porn video to prove it!”  
“I will END you Whittmore!”  
“Feeling a little blue Stilinski? Because it looked blue enough, but you’d never describe it as little...”

Jackson took off into the yard chased by a swearing Stiles.   
The Sherriff just blinked as they ran past him as he came inside.

“I take it Jackson has decided to help Stiles by distracting him with a refreshing jog around the Preserve?”  
“He won’t really hurt him will he?” Isaac looked a little worried about some of the more colourful threats Stiles had been screaming as he went out of even a wolf’s earshot.  
“Of course not!” Derek and the Sherriff both hugged the boy just to reassure him. “With any luck they’ll run into the Darach, or maybe Deucalion. In the mood Stiles is in they’d last about ten seconds.”

The Sherriff snorted.  
“And that’s only because it would take Stiles about ten seconds to think up a suitable piece of banter to throw at them as he tore them into pieces.”

“Who is Stiles tearing to pieces now?” Scott asked as he and Danny arrived with more groceries.

“Scott? I need that tarragon NOW!” Boyd’s voice came from the kitchen. “Danny, you can come in. Scott, give your bags to Isaac or Derek and stay out!”  
“He’s worse than Stiles!” Scott whined as Isaac took the bags from both of them and rushed off to deliver them.  
“Stiles won’t let you come closer than the dining room,” Danny pointed out, “At least Boyd still let’s you look through the door.”  
“I said I was sorry!” Scott grumbled, “I just wanted to taste it.”  
“Scott, you opened a pressure cooker while it was at full pressure. If Sherriff Stilinski or any of us humans had been in the room you would have killed us, or at least covered us in boiling stew.”  
“Ragu!” Boyd called out from the kitchen. “It was a ragu! It will be a ragu!”

“The only reason you’re not in there cleaning it off the floor, walls and ceiling,” Derek said firmly, “is because I’m pretty sure either Stiles or Boyd, or both of them would kill you if you walked into the room while there was food around.”  
“I thought Stiles was exaggerating when he told us about you burning CEREAL, but he wasn’t, was he Scott?” Boyd sounded like he was bearing a grudge still.  
“That was ONE TIME!” Scott replied.  
“I don’t even want to know.” Danny muttered as he put the vacuum away.  
“I’ll clean it up after Sherriff, I’m really sorry.” Scott did look a bit chastened.  
“It’s OK Scott; Stiles got some help and cleaned it while you were at the market getting replacement ingredients.”  
“Help?”

“It was awesome!” Isaac said as he came back with four cupcakes in his hand and handed one to each of Derek, Danny and then the Sherriff. “Boyd says Stiles need never know but watch for crumbs, they’d be evidence.”

Scott made a whine of sadness but sat on the sofa and just pouted rather than risk Boyd’s wrath. 

“Scott!” Boyd’s voice sounded closer and Scott whirled around just in time to receive a cupcake to the face hurled at speed from then open kitchen door.  
“Oh.” Danny said as cake and crumbs went onto the carpet. He went and got the vacuum back from the hall closet as Scott picked up the remains and scoffed them.

“What was awesome?” Danny asked as he hid all evidence of the cupcake suicide and then vacuumed the Sherriff’s shirt just in case.

“Stiles mobilised every ant, roach and carnivorous beetle in a two mile radius and got them to come clean up the mess.” The Sherriff was licking his fingers clean as he thanked Danny for the assist, “I couldn’t believe how fast they arrived. I thought we had some terrible hidden plague of them in the walls until Stiles explained he was actually teleporting them in via the currents.”  
“There are currents under this place?” Danny said with interest, “I’m making a map of them, but it’s early days. This whole area is riddled with Telluric Currents, all different strengths and types too according to Deaton.”  
“That’s how Stiles can travel so fast isn’t it?” Isaac asked, finishing his cake, wiping his mouth with his napkin and carefully disposing of the napkin he’d collected his crumbs in.  
“Mostly,” Derek had insisted on learning exactly where and how Stiles could ‘travel’ to avoid any further heart attacks on his part from not fully understanding his boyfriend’s powers.  
“When he does that ‘sink into the ground’ thing and grabs your leg, he’s just moving through the soil using Earth Magic. It’s pretty easy for him to do it, but it’s limited in distance, he can’t go further than he can see before he sinks, and it takes a bit out of him unless he’s lucky enough to do it near a current; which as Danny pointed out, is pretty easy in this part of town.”

Danny vacuumed under and around Scott twice (just in case) then put the vacuum away again.

“I’m listening too, go on!”  
“When he does the Telluric Teleport thing it takes almost no energy at all. In fact Stiles says he has to limit how far he goes in some of the currents because if he travels in them too long when he comes out he’s literally spitting sparks or is on fire or keeps dripping water everywhere, depending on the energy type the current was. He can travel pretty fast by himself, but if he wants to take others with him it’s not only slower but it really drains him. Deaton thinks it’s actually Stiles generating some sort of protective shield for his passengers that exhausts him. The few casters who can use the currents the same way usually use their signature element to shield themselves from the energies or they get damaged. Stiles is the first living creature Deaton has ever heard of that not only can use ALL the currents, but who isn’t hurt by touching them unshielded. In fact, he seems to draw energy from them.”

“My son the over-achiever!”   
“What about when he runs into a tree and come out behind you?” Isaac asked.  
“That’s something that no one else can do Deaton says.” Derek shook his head as he thought of how much the usually enigmatic Druid had changed in the past few weeks. “Although it’s something that Dryads and Wood Nymphs are known for. I was hoping all of you would notice the patterns and learn to foil his little game, but of this group only Boyd has done so, so far.”

“Ha!” came from the kitchen.  
“I know we agreed it was safer for Boyd to do the cooking since Stiles was already too tense, but does he have to be so...” Scott began.

The kitchen door opened again.

“I am not getting the vacuum out again!” Danny said forcefully “Kill him tomorrow.”

The door shut.

“What’s the pattern?” Isaac was trying not to giggle at Scott’s fearful expression.  
“He can only enter or leave a tree that is large enough to fit his body” Danny said, rolling his eyes, “And whatever species he enters he comes out of the same species. Lyds and I worked it out after the second time we saw him do it.”  
“Is that why he can’t ambush Jackson like he does us?” Scott whined again “Did you guys tell him?”  
“Jackson worked it out before I did.” Boyd said as he came into the room. “Everything is almost done that can be done. It just has to sit UNTOUCHED until just before they arrive.”

Boyd gave Scott such a stink-eye that Derek wondered who the True Alpha actually was.   
Maybe Stiles was right? Even with all his power Scott was still a puppy.

A screaming, but smiling, Jackson came running in from the backdoor, through the room, leaping over Scott on the sofa, and out the front door.   
Stiles was only a few yards behind, still shouting what everyone assumed were threats, although he was changing languages so fast it was hard to tell.  
After Stiles echoed Jackson’s leap and followed him out the front door Danny sighed and walked towards the hall.   
Everyone looked down and saw the scattering of dirt, twigs and dried leaves the two runners had left in their wake.

“Sherriff, while I’m doing this, would you like to line the front and back doors with Mountain Ash for me?”

The Sherriff frowned.

“But that won’t stop Stiles.”  
“It will stop Jackson, and we can hide the evidence much easier if they die outside.”  
“But Stiles won’t really hurt Jackson,” Isaac said, worried again, “Would he?”

“Of course he won’t” Danny smiled ferociously, “I’m going to kill them both before he gets a chance.”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
“Stiles, if you get up to check the door again I will scream.”  
“Did Coulson say how many were coming?” Chris asked.  
“Stiles, sweetie, come sit down next to me. I want to show you the new wrist sheath I bought in LA.”  
“He wasn’t sure himself.” Sherriff Stilinski sighed “It’s just going to be him and Jemma tonight from the SHIELD team because he doesn’t want to overwhelm us with sheer numbers.”

“Hey buddy, go sit between Derek and Ally and I’ll get you a drink, ok?”  
“The Son of Coul asked me if I would attend tonight with him and was most pleased when I said I was already here. These devices of yours are truly most ingenious!” Sif smiled as she showed them the very, very basic phone Lydia and Danny had presented her with that evening.  
“Out! Out! Take one more step into that kitchen and I will poison you with Wolfsbane even if it poisons me too!”  
“It’s fortunate you got tonight off Melissa,” Peter said brightly, “It’s not every day you get to meet an arch super-villain after all!”

“He is so sexy when he’s forceful isn’t he?”  
“I took the whole week off when I realised that Stiles might need me.” Melissa said smiling at the boy who was being wrestled down onto the sofa by his boyfriend. “And I met you months ago, Peter, so the whole super-villain thing is old hat to me now.”  
“Is Jackson OK? Maybe I should go help him with that ointment?”  
“Marin came around today to borrow some extra Mountain Ash and a jar of my special wound paste.”

“I’m not impressed Stiles. Poison Oak was just being mean; even if you have given him something to cure it. I’m very tempted to search your browser history and go to Jungle and get drunk enough to blab. Except of course that underage drinking is illegal.”  
“You think Kali is on the mend?” The Sherriff sighed “It’s been quiet since she...”  
“Stiles, we have a room full of wolves. We’re going to hear them long before they ring the bell. Now sit still, you’ve elbowed me in the ribs twice now.”  
“Was rendered armless?” Melissa’s dark humour, common to many in her profession, was always a shock to those who didn’t know her well. “I’m curious though Alan, what’s in your paste? A lot of the old herbal remedies are very useful for some of our patients who have allergies to modern preservatives and the like.”

“You could have warned me Snow-job. I almost panicked when the ointment started moving by itself.”  
“Calendula, Yarrow, Garlic, Dittany and Comfrey; in various proportions, mashed to a paste and with just a hint of magic to bind their effects together. Sometimes I add powdered Haematite too.”  
“I made it that way so people could put it on awkward spots without needing to get felt up by strangers, Lizard-lips; except I forgot you were a) into that sort of thing and b) a scaredy reptile.”  
“For the blood clotting and cleansing properties?” Sif was nodding “I helped Queen Frigga make many of her healing potions over the years, although I was never as skilled as Idunn of course, or even Prince Loki.”  
“Derek, please don’t do that when I’m watching. I’m already traumatised by my childhood; I don’t need to see my brother doing that!”

Stiles was snuggling deeper in Derek’s arms.

“Derek, I’m really nervous.”  
“I hope we have enough chairs out there.” John said “Even with the picnic setting from your place, Chris, it’s going to be rough if Phil and Jemma bring more than five or six.”  
“I know you’re scared Stiles. Just listen to my heartbeat and try to calm down. Mrs Abernathy across the road can’t handle things if her rosebushes start changing places again.”  
“We can always grab extras from the dining room John.” Melissa smiled at his worry. “It will be fine.”

“I love you Der. You make everything better. That’s a pretty neat sheath Ally. Is it spring loaded too?”  
“John is just nervous about how his suburban house can compare to a fabled palace in a place of legend.” Peter sighed “Like anywhere could hope to compare. Just relax!”  
“It is! The shop Lydia found had to do some minor adjustments for me, because these things are almost always designed for a guy and even though my wrists are thicker than most females, it still needed a tweak to get the knife to fall out smoothly and consistently.”  
“Lord Sherriff,” Sif still couldn’t quite shake the formality she felt when speaking to the lawman, “Your home may seem modest when compared to a palace, but even in my brief time here I have seen that it is a place of such honour, and so much love that any being, be they Prince or other would count themselves most blessed to call this place home. Our palace has felt much colder since we lost our beloved Queen, so we of Asgard know that the true value of a home is the warmth of the welcome and the wealth of love the occupants bear for each other.”

“Stiles, buddy, I think your dad is crying.”

At Scott’s words everyone looked to the Sherriff who was indeed slightly red-eyed, but who was smiling even as his eyes glistened.   
Sif was currently being hugged seemingly to death by an equally emotional Melissa McCall while Chris and Peter exchanged another of their odd looks at each other and even Deaton was smiling more than just his usual hint.

“I don’t want to know.” Stiles sighed “Old people are so strange.”

Derek raised his head and looked at the boy in his arms.

“I don’t mean you Sourwolf! You’re not old, you’re young and hot and...”  
“Stiles.” Derek said softly.  
“... although if you were just a little bit younger then we could be doing the do and it would only be a misdemeanour not a felony...”  
“Stiles!”Derek tried to interrupt a little more firmly.  
“... not that I want to pressure you in any way because the whole making out and cuddling thing is more than enough for me; seriously, it’s amazing, more than I could ever have hoped for and waking up with you after a night free from nightmares is so good. I mean I know that sometimes after we’ve been smooching for a while I need to go off and...”  
“Stiles! Focus!” that was Lydia.

“What?” Stiles spun around to look at the Banshee who was getting up from her seat and glaring at him. Everyone was glaring at him.

The doorbell rang.

“I’m going to be sick.” Stiles had certainly gone very pale as he clutched at Derek’s shirt and tried not to panic. “I’ll be back in a minute. I’ll meet you outside.”

In a heartbeat he was gone, sinking through the sofa and the floor in the space of a breath and disappearing.   
Derek sat there with a look of concern mixed with annoyance on his face.   
The reason for his concern was obvious.   
So was the reason for his annoyance.

“Lydia, if you could let them in...” Sherriff Stilinski stood and smiled at the girl, “Just give Derek a chance to get upstairs first. Derek, luckily I ironed all your shirts today. They’re in Stiles’ room.”  
“If the black one is there, wear it; otherwise go with the darkest you can find.” Lydia suggested.

Sif was torn between admiring the impressive body that had been exposed and trying not to laugh.

“Stiles does like to go on about Derek’s allergy to shirts,” Melissa had no reticence in either laughing or ogling, “We cannot let him live this one down.”

Derek just stalked upstairs to find a new shirt.  
Lydia led the guests into the room.   
Phil and Jemma were smiling brightly; indeed Coulson’s smile seemed a lot less tense than it had over the last couple of days; as if some terrible fate had been postponed if not averted.   
The four figures with them were instantly recognisable, even to Scott whose grasp of popular culture and current events was tenuous at times, despite the best efforts of his ‘brother’.  
Phil introduced them to John first.

“Sherriff Stilinski, may I present Loki of Asgard and his brother Thor Odinson; also, Captain Steve Rogers and Doctor Bruce Banner.”

Loki and Phil smiled tightly at each other as if the naming procedures had been the result of a very intense negotiation.

All four of them were in normal civilian clothing, although Captain Rogers managed to look somehow old fashioned and Dr Banner slightly rumpled despite them both wearing almost identical chinos and chambray shirts.   
Thor’s shirt was white and strained slightly every time he flexed his arms (or even moved them).   
Loki was dressed in black pants with a tailored waistcoat (also black) over a green silk shirt that matched his eyes.

“Derek, avoid green or chambray!” Lydia said softly as she passed the door to the hall and stairwell.

Everyone introduced themselves, or were introduced by the Sherriff except of course Sif; who did introduce herself to Dr Banner and Steve.

“Lady Sif!” Thor exclaimed as his eyes saw her new dress (the green one) and hair. “What have you done?”  
“She has succeeded in a task I thought impossible!” Loki covered his brother’s gaffe with the ease of long, long practice, “She has made the most beautiful and deadly warrior in Asgard even more beautiful!”

He kissed her hand and winked at her.

“I congratulate you on your excellent choice of colour!” He smiled, indicating the green that almost matched his own.  
“Lydia chose it for me.” Sif said, unsure whether she was being mocked or teased, it was always a close run thing with the Prince of Lies.  
“You are gifted, for a mortal.”

Lydia smiled her Stiles smile at him.

“Well,” she said brightly, “Sif said she wanted to try a colour that screamed both wickedness but also wasn’t too powerful, so since I was already thinking of you...”

Loki blinked a couple of times then laughed, his face showing real emotion for the first time since arriving.

“Oh, Daughter of Norns, you are truly gifted. I’m afraid old habits and all that, I tend to lack in the social graces unless I’m plotting or scheming.”  
“I’m not certain what has amused you so brother?” Thor said, a puzzled frown on his face.  
“Oh my God,” Danny exclaimed “They’re exactly like Scott and Stiles!”  
“Speaking of my son, he was a little nervous about this meeting and... had to go for a walk.”  
“He has nothing to fear from my brother.” Thor boomed slightly.  
“And Derek, Stiles’ boyfriend is...”  
“He’s gone to keep him company!” Jackson said brightly from where he had been hastily whispering to Lydia. 

He traced the shape of a window and jumped his fingers out of it when the guests turned back to face the Sherriff.  
John sighed. Those two were so different, and yet so alike.

“Well, they said they’d meet us outside, so let’s go out to the back and relax under the stars until they come back from their... walk.”

It seemed only Thor had been fooled judging by the small smiles on the faces of the others.

“Thank you Sherriff,” Loki was charming “And may I say how warm your home is; seriously! I can feel the magic in and around this dwelling and it feels much stronger than it did on my last visit. Stiles could not have grown its aura so alone; it is the householder who makes the strongest contribution, your own gift must be most powerful too.”  
“You’ve been here before?” Phil exclaimed.  
“My gift?” John seemed shocked.

Loki sensed that he had miss-stepped somehow and smiled nervously.

“Let’s go meet Stiles,” He said, “It is to him that I owe the greatest explanation.”

They moved to the backyard.  
.  
.  
.  
Stiles and Derek were sitting on the ground next to the herb bed that had become Stiles’ refuge when he was upset.   
Stiles was chattering away as he always did when he was at breaking point, explaining to Derek the properties of Borage and how useful it was when used to help shift a cough or a chest infection.   
As the group descended on the deck and grill area, decorated in simple elegance by the eye of Lydia (and the hands of everyone else) Stiles turned a nervous face to them and peeked over Derek’s broad shoulders.  
Loki stopped moving for a second and looked as if he had just been stabbed. Thor also seemed both shocked and upset.

“Sometimes I get the same feeling.” John murmured to them, “He looks so like her at times I want to weep.”

Loki did something then that Phil Coulson would never have predicted, no matter how many guesses he was allowed to make.   
He started to weep.  
Approaching the pair on the ground very slowly, as if worried they might bolt (not an unlikely prospect to be honest), he knelt in the soft grass beside them.   
Thor had never seen his brother look so vulnerable and humble, not even when his mind had finally been freed from his thrall to the Death Titan.

“Ceann’na’gcrann, may I speak with you?” Loki asked softly. 

Everyone gasped at the liquid beauty of Stiles’ real name pronounced correctly for the first time in years.  
Stiles clung to Derek’s torso like he was adrift in a storm and Derek was his life raft.

“Is it true?” he asked haltingly.  
“Is what true?” Loki was more gentle than his brother could ever recall him being.  
“Are you my father?”

Loki seemed surprised by the question, then his confusion lifted somewhat and he smiled. It was not the mocking smirk everyone was used to.

“I believe your Book of Faces has an expression for it? ‘It’s complicated’. If you would be patient and listen to my tale I will try to explain what I know.”

Stiles nodded and everyone relaxed into the chairs and benches scattered around.   
Derek stayed sitting upright on the ground with Stiles in his lap, although after a few seconds a sturdy young tree slid itself across the yard so he had something to lean against.  
Thor, Steve and Banner were astonished at this feat, accomplished as it was without even word or gesture, or even thought it seemed.  
Loki nodded as if something he had suspected were confirmed.

“This tale is very complicated, and spans more than a thousand of your years. I may have to skip backwards and forwards in time to tell it all, so please listen carefully and save your questions until the end.”

Stiles blushed as everyone chortled slightly and looked at him meaningfully.  
Loki shifted slightly so he was able to face all of them, although he kept most of his attention on Stiles.

“First I must explain the nature of Prophecy, for the story is tangled in the weave of the Norns and cannot be understood without knowing about them.”

Lydia and Stiles seemed to have expected that.

“The Norns are a mysterious group, there are many norns, also known as the Meliae, but only three Norns.” 

Everyone heard the capitalisation.

“The norns live amongst the roots and branches of The World Tree and both care for it and are cared for by it. Basically, it is their task to ensure that the linchpin upon which all our known reality exists remains stable and healthy. The three Norns are different. They weave the tapestry of reality, although that is merely a metaphor to most. To others they are the ones who carve the Wyrd, or Destiny for every soul born to the nine realms upon the roots and trunk of Yggdrasil.”

Danny, Lydia and Deaton were taking notes; so was Jemma.

“Everyone who lives is granted a Wyrd by the Norns at birth; either good fortune or bad. But Wyrd is not prophecy. It is not set in stone, but carved in living wood. One’s Wyrd can be altered, the runes rewritten even after they have been carved. The norns do not set our fate, but only the starting path; it is our choices and character that allows us to alter our circumstances for the better, or allow us to fall into error and misfortune.”

Loki was a gifted storyteller and his audience were enthralled.

“When Odin traded his eye to the Norns for ‘Wisdom’, one of the gifts he received was that of Prophecy. Prophecy comes true, always, but it is impossible to truly understand it until after it has happened. But Odin was proud and thought he knew better and that his interpretation must be the correct one. I do not know all the prophecies he made, but I do know those that concerned me.”

Thor had bristled a little at the criticism of his father, but settled at a touch from Steve.

“Have you heard of the legends of the Oracle of Delphi? Who spoke in gibberish and was then interpreted by the priests and priestesses of the temple? Prophecy is spoken in many different tongues. Some ancient and lost, some waiting to be invented years or even millennia after they are uttered by the seer. I do not know what significance the language of each prophecy holds, only that I suspect that the tongue chosen is that which will allow for the most correct understanding of the pronouncement when it finally comes to pass. Odin’s first Prophecy was uttered in his own native tongue, so he did not even need to have it translated to understand it.”

Loki rattled something off in Old Norse which Thor, Sif, Lydia and Stiles all reacted to.

“In English it basically says: ‘The conqueror shall take the son of the defeated foe else much woe and little weal shall befall. The stolen one shall be raised a prince, and one day shall either doom or save the realms. Should he perish, so shall we all.’ Odin made that prophecy on the eve of his final battle with Laufey, King of the Jotun and my blood father.”  
“What about...? Oh, sorry” Stiles managed to stifle his curiosity.

“So there I was, a Prince of the Aesir, but not of the Aesir. Most think I only discovered the deception recently, but I have known my whole life. The spell Odin used on me changes me, and I could feel it. This form you see is no mere illusion; it is an actual change in my very being. But I shall come back to that. Let me tell you of a lonely child. Only three memories, hidden deep in my soul were beyond the corrupting touch of Thanos. My memories of love. First, my mother, Frigga, who knew of the lie before it had ever been uttered, but who loved me anyway. I was a fool and rejected her love until it was too late. Then my brother, who believed the lie, and loved me because of it. But even after he learned the truth, he still loved me. I tried to reject him too, but he is too stubborn and too stupid to realise that he cannot win against me, so I gave in and just let the idiot care for me.”

Thor was smiling at his brother with an expression that made Scott’s puppy eyes look like Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

“Then there was the norn who found a lonely child constantly haunting the orchard she tended. He was avoiding the rough and tumble of his peers who wanted to fight or spar, while he only wanted to learn about the world and how it worked, or practice the spark of magic he had discovered inside himself.”  
“Claudia wasn’t an Asgardian?” The Sherriff’s impulse control was better than his son’s, but not by much.

Loki’s wave asked for patience.

“She befriended him and taught him many of her secrets of how the universe is put together. That was when the child discovered the second prophecy of Odin. It had been uttered in a language not yet spoken, but it had its roots in many of the languages Odin and his servants knew so they felt that they were correct in their understanding of its import.”  
“It was in English wasn’t it?” Stiles said quietly.

Loki nodded.

“I shall give you the translation back into English of what Odin and his counsellors recorded at the time. ‘The changeling shall parent a son, who will be a wolf. The child shall have the power to kill the All-Father and begin the end of times. The tree shall fall and none should exist to takes its place and the Nine Realms will perish utterly.’ This is why I am forbidden by Odin’s edict from not only parenthood, but from seeking love in any form. He fears that even should I find love with one of my own sex, my shape changing ability would allow me to become the child’s mother. Note that neither father nor mother was specified.”

Thor was aghast, he had never heard the reasons for Odin’s prohibition, nor understood the full ramifications of how it had affected his brother for the last thousand years.

“That overweening, arrogant prick-noodle!” Stiles was cross now.

Loki chuckled at the fury his young listener was showing on his behalf.

“I found the original prophecy, taken down by Odin’s servant, the word is phonetically is it not Dr Simmons?”

She nodded.

“It goes as follows. ‘The Changeling will help make a child, who shall be the wolf’s boy. The child shall have the power to destroy the All-Father. At the beginning of the end of times, should the tree fall, and none exist to take its place, then the Nine Realms will perish utterly.’ As you can see, they didn’t totally mishandle the translation, but they did get a few minor points slightly wrong.”

Lydia snorted.

“Slightly wrong? They fucked the entire meaning up totally!”  
“So how does this affect Stiles and his mother?” John asked.

“Yggdrasil is wise beyond knowing, but it is... unfocussed in time. It cannot tell the difference between past, present and future except for very specific moments. It can see its own possible destruction, and it made preparations for it. It asked its most faithful handmaiden to undergo a formidable task. She would take a part of the Ash into her own being and keep it hidden and safe in case Ragnarok occurred.”  
“Mom?”

Loki nodded gently.

“She asked me for help and I did so. I used my magic to turn her into a human dryad so that she would not be tied to any one place or time and yet would still be able to blend in with the people of Midgard. I used my power to become female and used the magic of Odin’s blending spell in my own body to facilitate her change, to make it permanent and stable. She would be born and grow old and die eventually, only to be reborn somewhere else. She would remember her past but only in detail if she needed to, in effect, she would be immortal.”  
“But she died. Did she... is she alive somewhere?” John asked.

“I would have said yes, but for the presence of young Ceann’na’gcrann. There is always a price for magic, and the price for hiding her from the sight of Heimdall and allowing her to remain free and safe was high, but she paid it willingly. She would live and die in an endless cycle; meeting people, falling in love, even marrying, then to be reborn to begin a new adventure. But she could never have a child. The essence of Yggdrasil inside her could not survive outside her soul, and should she have a child, it would pass into the child and both would die. At the beginning she was happy enough to pay that price, because she was free to find fulfilment in other people and places.”

Loki paused and sipped the bottle of water Melissa had offered him earlier and gazed at John and Stiles.

“Then she met you. In almost a thousand years of living and dying she had never met anyone who she loved more. So she chose to take the option I had built into the spell I cast. If she planted her tree in the soil of the place she wanted to be her home forever, she would become a true Dryad, and live only as long as her tree did. And when she died at last, her soul would pass on to whatever mystery lies beyond this world, and so she could stay with her beloved. In addition, she might, only might, be able to give the man she loved so much a child. When she contacted me I knew there was no way to dissuade her, so I agreed yet again to help. The child would need to be strong to bear the splinter of Yggdrasil. A human would never be strong enough, despite your incredible tenacity your lives are just too short, and being only half norn would not be enough either. So I had to do more magic on Idunn, Claudia as she was in this, her last incarnation.”  
“So Stiles has his Asgardian genes from...?” Dr Simmons was another curious soul.

“How does a gardener propagate a plant?” Loki asked.  
“Seeds.” Scott said proudly.  
“Runners or cuttings?” Isaac was more tentative.  
“Cloning?” Lydia suggested.

Stiles was still.

“Grafting?” He finally guessed.

Loki nodded.

“A new, human/norn soul, strengthened by the heritage of an Asgardian and grafted onto the rootstock of the World Tree. But it wasn’t enough. The stability of the new life was too fragile. The human and the Asgardian parts of him would not work together, instead they struggled for dominance. Then I realised the obvious answer. My own body is Jotun and Asgardian, held in harmony permanently by the unbreakable spell Odin cast on me. I can assume my Giant form when I desire, but this is my most natural form now. So I used a few of my own cells, as I had when I cast the spell on Idunn in the first place to stabilise her Dryad and Human nature. This time, however, I was using my own flesh and blood to persuade the cells taken from both ‘father’s’ to cooperate instead of fighting. I did not expect my Jotun nature to also manifest in you, that was unforseen. That’s why I said it was complicated when you asked if I were your father Stiles. In many ways I am part father and mother to you.”  
“Who...?” Stiles needed to know, but he thought he might already.  
“Who else? The Asgardian who above all others exemplifies the best in our race.”

Loki looked across the circle of listeners until he met the shocked gaze of his brother.

Everyone was stunned into silence for some time before John finally spoke.

“Well... Thor, “He said to the shivering God sitting beside him “Would you like to see the embarrassing baby pictures? The naked one on the lambskin rug is a hoot.”


	15. The Root Of All Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack prepares for the final showdown  
> Jackson offers helpful advice  
> Isaac asks exactly the right questions  
> Derek is popular and getting lots of frequent flier miles  
> There us dancing  
> More cameos than you can shake an Avenger at  
> Peter does something seriously dangerous  
> Stiles and Lydia realise they've made a terrible mistake  
> Jennifer Blake does a deal, but also double deals  
> Things both go and don't go according to plan  
> Something goes terribly, terribly wrong for someone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok, first a big warning - and please don't panic.  
> MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH!!!!  
> You're going to want to skip to the end, trust me, I did, please DON'T, it will be much more fun if you just go with the flow.  
> Anyone who has read my Glee fic on fanfic will know that I'm not a huge fan of permanent bad things unless they are NEEDED  
> Please.... don't skip, it will spoil the whole structure  
> Sometimes there is hope, even when things might end on a huge cliffy  
> There are some tiny little scene breaks as well as the usual long ones, imagine it's just a jump cut like in a movie!  
> More notes at end  
> OH! and I apologise for the length, it's LOOOONG  
> Comments please?   
> I'm going to need em to get up the energy to start climbing this bloody mountain again (sorry for the hanging on the cliff, but I fell over at this point)

It was a dark and stormy night, Stiles thought as he looked around him, gotta love a good cliché.

The cloud were pretty patchy though and the full moon managed to illuminate the area well enough to see by, just; otherwise the humans would have been relying on the intermittent flashes of lightning.   
Not that the lightning was infrequent.  
Stiles shuddered as he felt another bolt hit a taller tree somewhere close by.

The wind swirled around them, foiling even Allison’s efforts at precision. The rain was enough to make the ground slippery and the people in it miserable, but not enough to wash the blood from their faces and bodies completely.

Stiles heard Allison and Lydia scream as he saw Erica, who had been standing to his left, over the unmoving form of her beloved, attacked from behind by the hulking figure of Ennis.   
The giant Alpha struck with no warning and almost tore her spine from her body, but he didn’t strike to kill instantly. He deliberately hit her so that her death was, although still inevitable, sure to be slow and painful. The brute turned to Stiles and grinned triumphantly, lifting his head to howl his derision at the boy.

Derek and Jackson, who were fighting somewhere in the brush to his right, howled also, but in anger and pain.   
Stiles couldn’t see the others, although he could hear the crashing and growling of wolves through the thick growth behind him, on the far side of the clearing.

Ennis had made a fatal mistake though, for even as his head was raised to howl, Peter burst from the trees and into the bare area and struck, his anger granting him incredible strength. His attack, obviously aimed at Ennis’ throat, was more successful than expected as Ennis’ head was torn completely off and his body collapsed, spilling even more blood over the convulsing, slowly dying form of Erica.

Peter staggered a little in shock and then howled in pain as his eyes changed from their glowing blue to the bright crimson of an Alpha and his body seemed to twist and thicken even as Stiles watched.   
The twins, who had been working with Peter, reeled back in surprise. Then Scott stumbled into the clearing and froze as he saw the carnage before him and Peter’s Alpha form.

Well that’s the crappy icing on the poop cake, thought Stiles. 

They were losing.  
Even as Lydia screamed again, Stiles didn’t want to know who was in danger now, he made his decision and turned to the woman standing beside him.

“I’ll do it. Take me instead of them. On your oath, you will take the power, destroy the Alphas and then leave without harming my pack. Swear it!”

Jennifer Blake smiled at him.

“I so swear.”  
“Stiles! No!” Lydia was close enough to hear, even over the storm and the shouting.  
“It’s my decision Lydia!”  
“Stiles! You need to think about...!”  
“No Lydia. I’m through listening to you anymore. Your plan sucked. Leave now, while you can. You’re a lying witch. Go back to your wardrobe and count your shoes; what happens here is none of your business!”

Lydia looked at him with puzzled eyes, and then she seemed to make a decision.

“You’re sure this is what is right?” She asked slowly.

Stiles just nodded.

“I’ll stay.”

Lydia was pale, but proud.

Jennifer wrapped the garrotte around Stiles’ neck and led him two steps to stand against the stump of the Nemeton. With feline speed she drew a knife from her jacket and cut his throat across, the blood spraying onto the dead grey surface of the tree’s remains.

“Stiles! No!” Derek sounded frantic, but he was too far away, even for a wolf, and the Ash barrier prevented him approaching them anyway.

Stiles staggered in shock, only held up by Jennifer’s inhuman strength as she tightened the rope and began to strangle him.   
She lifted the twisted branch she had threatened him with when they first arrived and struck him across the back of the head.  
Stiles fell across the top of the Nemeton as he heard Derek and Lydia both screaming for him.  
He felt his blood draining from his body, onto the stump beneath him and watched as it soaked into the dead wood and disappeared.

Everything went black.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
A FEW WEEKS BEFORE THE SACRIFICE  
.  
“Stiles, you look like death.”  
“Thanks Lydia, I needed that boost to my ego.”

Lydia handed him a large glass of cold... something and pointed imperiously to a chair.

“Lydia knows her death Stiles,” Jackson pointed out, “If she says that’s what you look like...”  
“Are you feeling ok?” 

Isaac could always be relied on to be the caring one. 

“Because if you are going to die I want first dibs on your X-Box games. Scott already has a heap.”

OK, maybe Isaac was yet another heartless bastard.

“Why are you all in my house?” Stiles scratched attractively (so there!) and yawned and then took a swig of his... juice?  
“We’re caring for you in your time of need.” Lydia drawled as she flicked disinterestedly through a supermarket gossip rag.   
“What is this?” Stiles looked at the mystery liquid but it didn’t offer him an answer either.  
“It’s a health juice.” Jackson’s voice was almost as sour as the juice. “Erica’s on one of her health kicks again.”  
“Why am I being made to drink it?” Stiles asked, his mental tally of favourites being rapidly reorganised.

“Because you’re immune to most poisons.” Lydia frowned. “Damn, Jackson, I suppose it had to happen inevitably, I owe you $50.”  
“I was right?” Jackson seemed shocked. “I suggest we just defray that against the $300 I already owe you. Which one did I get right?”  
“Kim and Kanye; they named the baby North.”  
“You were betting on the Kimye baby?” Stiles made a face similar to the one the juice had caused.  
“Only how stupid the name would be.” Lydia sighed “I said Kris would do market research for the perfect name and that it would start with a K or a C. Jackson said it would be something stupid like a colour or a shape; directions count in my book.”

“What’s a Kimye baby?” Isaac was truly puzzled.  
“Oh Isaac, I love you for that alone.” Stiles smiled at the boy.  
“I made you pancakes, they’re keeping warm in the oven.” Isaac smiled shyly, “And I used the secret stash of bacon to make some for you.”

Stiles’ favourites list made another rapid change.

“You have secret bacon?” Jackson regretted asking as soon as the words left his mouth.  
Isaac and Stiles nodded.

“My dad cannot be trusted with any form of pork related product,” Stiles was deadly serious, “So we have to hide it or do without ourselves.”  
“Is this a Royal ‘We’?” Jackson smirked.  
“Me and Derek... and currently Erica and Boyd... and usually all the rest of you.”  
“Since it’s getting pretty chilly at night now, they have a cooler box with ice in it hidden on the roof.” Isaac grinned, “It’s easy enough for a wolf to get to it, but the Sherriff can’t.”

Stiles was looking at the pancakes Isaac was putting in front of him.

“Do you want syrup?” Isaac asked.  
“Could you grab the unlabeled jar in the pantry? The big stone one on the floor.”  
“Jesus! Stiles this is really heavy!”  
“I know, Dad can’t lift it; and the lid won’t open if it’s inside the cupboard.”

Lydia actually looked up from her magazine at that.

“You enchanted a jar to stop your dad stealing honey?”  
“I need the practice” Stiles pointed out as he used a clean spoon to dollop several large blobs of extremely sticky amber goo onto his pancakes. “And Dad is almost as bad with this stuff as he is with bacon, or crackling, or sausage or ham or...”  
“We get the picture Stilinski.” Jackson finished his coffee.  
“Are you still having problems sleeping?” Lydia asked. Isaac had tried comforting Stiles last night, but after the fourth time being literally thrown out of the bed he’d just curled up on the floor and tried to make his presence felt from afar.  
“The nightmares are getting worse,” Stiles sighed, “I think I almost throttled poor Isaac last night. I need my Der-Bear to cuddle at nights. Phil Coulson better bring him back to me soon or...”

What dire fate awaited the Director of SHIELD was lost as Stiles dissolved into a massive sneeze.

“Are you catching a cold?” Lydia seemed alarmed.  
“I haven’t been sick for months” Stiles whined, “But now I feel nauseous all the time, my bones ache, I keep sneezing and I get massive headaches. After the first couple of recent ritual murders it evened out, but I’m afraid that third one did something. It’s pretty obvious that every time Jennifer ‘Dark Oak’ Blake completes one of the triplets in her Five-fold knot, I get sick from it. I still can’t work out why.”  
“What did Deaton say?” Isaac slipped another piece of bacon onto Stiles’ plate and made him a cup of tea.  
“Yeah Stilinski, when is it due?” Jackson quipped.

Stiles just stared at Jackson without blinking for several very long, uncomfortable seconds.

“Sorry.” Jackson so wasn’t, “Maybe it’s Dutch Elm Disease?”  
“Meh” Stiles was too tired to care about the teasing.  
“Still no proof then?” Isaac didn’t try to understand what was really going on most of the time, so long as he knew what he was supposed to do to help and that all the people he cared for were healthy and happy... or at least, not dying or sobbing their hearts out (Isaac was a realist)

“We know what she is doing; sacrificing people in categories in a specific way to generate power. “ Stiles sighed “We’ve even worked out how; she’s using the Telluric Currents, or at least the ones related to water and air to either snatch the victims when they are on one or she incapacitates them and drags them somewhere to kill them. It’s the WHY that I can’t figure out.”   
“Why is knowing the why important?” Isaac asked the good questions.  
“If we know why she needs to raise power, we might be able to work out a way to bargain with her” Lydia said, still reading.  
“I thought she wanted to kill the Alpha Pack in revenge?” Jackson was sure he’d heard that once.  
“But why raise power this way?” Stiles flailed a little and honey sprayed slightly.  
“I thought the Dark Arts (tm) were always easier and faster when you needed to raise power for nefarious purposes?” Isaac was puzzled “That’s what the books and movies say.”

“Not in Beacon Hills.” Stiles and Lydia said almost as one.  
“The currents here are so powerful that a practitioner as strong as Jennifer obviously is should be able to just tap into the currents she’s using to kill people and just draw the power off on her own for use in a fight.” Stiles sighed.  
“So why isn’t she?” Isaac made his confused nose wrinkle face again.  
“That’s what is driving me to madness!” Stiles almost face-planted into his honey soaked pancakes.  
“They say madness is doing the same thing multiple times and expecting different results.” Lydia turned a page, “Maybe we need to do something different?”  
“Great idea!” Stiles was finally enthused “We can brainstorm right now! We have some excellent brains here, and Jackson!”

Jackson flicked Stiles the bird by scratching his ear as he made another coffee for himself and Lydia.

“OK, brainstorm this then,” Jackson snarked as he sat back down “What is she doing?”  
“Sacrificing people to raise power to destroy the Alpha Pack.” Stiles rattled off.  
“No, too complicated! My Dad always says; when he’s starting on a complex case for court, break it down until there’s only one thing in the sentence, then deal with that sentence till it’s only one word, then deal with the word.”  
“What does that even mean?” Stiles made a face.  
“Plus you hate your Dad.” Lydia pointed out.  
“I don’t hate him, I resent him.” Jackson said “And can we not talk about Dad’s?” 

He made a significant eye roll towards Isaac.

“It’s cool” Isaac actually smiled “Since that cake Stiles made I can talk about him again without going mad.”  
“OK, we’ll try the lawyer trick” Stiles sighed “What is she doing? She’s sacrificing people to raise power.”  
“Smaller”  
“She’s sacrificing people”  
“Smaller”  
“She’s sacrificing”  
“Choose a word”  
“Sacrifice.”

There was silence.  
It lasted an uncomfortable length of time.

“Well that sucked.” Stiles grumbled.  
“Actually,” Isaac said, “Could someone explain something that has been bothering me a little from the beginning? I probably just missed it being explained at some point, but it has been niggling in the back of my mind.”  
“Ask away my friend and Chef”  
“Who or what is she sacrificing them to?”

“She’s just using their bodies and their deaths to generate power.” Lydia explained “It’s a form of magic called Necromancy. Quite harmless at low levels, when you use your own energy or willingly given life force, but Necromancers of her power can raise ghosts, and zombies, curse their enemies with sleeplessness, all sorts of things?”  
“We must be lucky she’s not done any of that then” Isaac sighed with relief, “Just those Druid spells that you and Deaton could counter Stiles. Does that mean she’s like you?”  
“What do you mean Scarfy?” Stiles was confused.  
“I thought one of the reasons people say you are scary powerful is because you’re able to use lots of power from different magic types. Deaton said it was unheard of for someone to be that powerful in multiple magics. So if she’s a Druid, like we’ve seen and a Necromancer then is she some sort of...?”

“Oh. My. Actual. God!” Stiles exclaimed, cutting Isaac’s question off.  
“What is it Stiles?” Lydia actually put her magazine down.  
“You and I assumed she was a Necromancer right?”

Lydia nodded.

“Because not only was there a stench of emotional trauma around each body, but the life force, the soul was torn from it?”

Lydia nodded again, her eyes widening as she realised what Stiles had suddenly seen.

“But if Blake is a Druid... how is she able to use Necromantic power at that level?”  
“Are you sure she’s a Druid?” Jackson asked “I thought you said people could use spells and rituals from lots of different disciplines.”  
“So Deaton says, but not to any great level. One of the reasons everyone is so scared of Morrell is because she is actually a Witch who can do a lot of Druid type things. That’s pretty rare, but it does happen because Witches and Druids are like the two sides of the Earth Magic coin.” 

Stiles was jumping in his seat now.

“Using Earth magic and Life magic at that level of power is impossible according to all the experts, except for Stiles.” Lydia was shaking her head. “We’ve been on the wrong track since the start!”  
“Did I mess up?” Isaac had lost track of things a few sentences ago.  
“You may have saved us all!” Lydia exclaimed “If she’s a Druid, then she can’t be draining or using the souls herself! She has to be sacrificing TO someone, then being granted some of that power back, to use if not to keep.”  
“I thought that was a form of Sorcery?” Jackson had paid attention.  
“Which means the who or the what must be an Earth magic...” Stiles stopped speaking. “What... not who!”

“Use complete words Stiles.” Lydia frowned.  
“When she arrived in town, what was the first big spell she cast?”  
“She tried to pump the pack for information and...”  
“...and seduce Derek!”  
“So she wanted some hunky wolf muscle to...” Jackson wasn’t convinced.  
“What was the SECOND spell she cast?” Stiles was grinning.  
“I... I’m not sure.” Lydia was wracking her brain for the answer.  
“She made us forget that tree” Isaac pointed out “The dead stump thing on the Hale lands that freaks Deaton out. He burnt your blood and Derek’s and his and made us these amulets.”  
“The Nemeton!” Lydia rifled desperately through her school folders. “A huge mystical tree, sacred to Druids, the site of frequent sacrifices to cleanse and generate positive power.”

She found the drawings she had made that day in Study Hall.

“And it has branches!”  
“But the Nemeton was cut down” Stiles sighed “No branches.”

She was showing Isaac, who was closest, the picture.

“Pass it closer Lydia, it’s upside down. It looks more like a river delta from this angle.”  
“Upside down?” Jackson snatched the page of drawings and turned them upside down. “Not branches, roots!”  
“That’s why you get sick every time she completes part of the ritual!” Lydia said to Stiles “She’s polluting the Telluric Currents! Currents that you can and frequently touch unshielded. The Nemeton was designed to touch them all, to draw them in, focus them, let them flow again, keep them stable and clean and living. When it was killed - it must still be connected to them; maybe it’s not quite dead? If she’s offering it power to regrow itself. Dark power...?”  
“What might that do to the currents?” Stiles was worried “To Beacon Hills?”

“Hellmouth.” Isaac said blandly.  
“We’re already a Hellmouth,” Stiles groaned, “A dark Nemeton would probably turn us into actual Hell.”  
“But how did she establish a connection to it?” Lydia said. “It can’t be that easy, surely?”  
“We need Danny and his historical research about the Alphas.” Stiles said, “I’ll call him and...”  
“Already on his way with the twins” Jackson said with a smirk, clicking his phone off. “Some of us are a little quicker on the uptake than others!”

Stiles grinned.

“Yeah, I heard Lyds complaining to Allison one day that you were a bit too fast sometimes. They have a spray for that you know Jax!”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
THREE WEEKS BEFORE THE SACRIFICE  
.  
“I know I’m right Sourwolf! I’m good at this stuff, remember?”  
“You can’t just go up to her in class and say ‘Hi there Julia Baccari! Yeah, we know who you are. How about you stop killing people?’ She’s not going to listen to you.”  
“Like I would do that!” Stiles huffed dramatically, “I’d wait until after class.”  
“Knowing why she has a beef with Deucalion and Kali is one thing Stiles. Even knowing how her connection with the Nemeton happened is useful. But she’s killed twelve people Stiles! Or at least twelve that we know of! She must have been killing them for years to maintain whatever glamour it is that is hiding her scars.”

“I’m working on some drops for that,” Stiles interrupted, “So far I can get it to work, but it makes your eyes grow three times their size and spit flames.”  
“Please tell me you didn’t try it on yourself.”  
“As if!” Stiles snorted in mock indignation, “I slipped some into Jackson’s saline for his contacts. The one’s he wears to avoid that wolfy eye glare thing. Jackson needs to be photographed the way flies need poop.”  
“We need to approach her carefully. She was Kali’s emissary before Kali killed her.”  
“Almost killed her!”  
“That evil tree brought her back from the brink somehow. She’s not going to want to give up the power it is feeding her.”  
“And the Nemeton is not going to let her stop killing to feed it and keep itself alive, I know all this Sourwolf!”  
“So we can’t approach her until we have a plan for dealing with the Nemeton as well!”  
“Lydia and I are researching.”  
“And?”  
“We’re getting there.”  
“Your Dad called while you were in the shower.”  
“Which one?”

Derek huffed and rolled his eyes dramatically.

“Just teasing Der! What did Dad need?”  
“He said to tell you that ‘He’s contacted them and it’s all set’, and something about a surprise for you tonight, do I need to worry?”  
“I’m skipping school tomorrow is all.”  
“Why?”  
“To be with you.”  
“Stiles, I don’t...”  
“I know what tomorrow is Der. Like I would be anywhere else? You’re stuck with me so there.”  
“How...?”  
“Sherriff’s kid remember? I read the crime report back when Peter was still all bitey-grr-aargh; Cora is skipping too, she just doesn’t know that it’s now with permission. She and Peter will be here. Should we organise something to do or just wing it?”  
Derek just sat and stared at him with very wide eyes.  
“Nine years Derek, it’s time to celebrate what you had, not dwell on what you lost.”  
“I love you so much.”

Derek’s words were mumbled and hard to make out under his tears but he clung to Stiles like he was the only solid thing in the world.   
Stiles wrapped his long arms around the shaking man and just let him know that he was there for him.

“Let it out Der, it’s ok to miss them. My Mom used to quote Winnie the Pooh to me you know. ‘How lucky I am to have something so wonderful that saying goodbye is so hard’; I had to keep repeating that to myself over and over after she died, because I really needed something positive to cling to.”  
“I have...”  
“What Der?”  
“I have you. You make the world good again.”

Stiles clung to the man and just let him sob into his chest. 

“I found some more recipes in Mom’s book; actual recipes I think, not magic ones.” Derek listened to his boyfriend babble and his shoulders relaxed a little as he just bathed in the strong embrace and the scent of Stiles. “One of them is labelled ‘Talia’s Bestest Beet Brownies’ so I think she stole it from your Mom.”  
“Mom made those for birthdays and special days” Derek mumbled, “Laura and I tried to make them in New York but we couldn’t remember the whole recipe.”  
“Well it looks amazing, so we’ll make them tomorrow; all of us. We can tell embarrassing stories about times our Moms or Dads yelled at us and watch their favourite movies or listen to their favourite music. I want to hear about your brother and the cousins too.”  
“Mom loved Swing and Jazz” Derek sighed “She actually met my Dad at a World War Two themed dance night in San Francisco. She would always have Glenn Miller or Nat King Cole or Ella Fitzgerald playing in the background while she worked at home.”  
“What did your Mom do?”  
“She mostly just ran the Family Trust,” Derek was soft and warm in Stiles’ arms, “Lots of shares in businesses, property and the like; also some charity foundations too. She was trained in Environmental Sciences actually. She had a Masters Degree in Zoology. She used to work with Wildlife groups, reintroducing endangered species into their original habitats. When the kids started coming along, she and Dad took turns to be the stay at home parent. He was a carpenter, high end bespoke furniture and cabinet making mostly. So he could work from home once the kids were old enough to not need constant watching. Sometimes we’d come home from school and they’d be dancing around the house just lost in each others’ eyes. I miss them so much.”  
“They sound really cool”

“Stiles...”  
“Yes Der?”  
“Will you... will you help me, once all this mess is over. I want to tear the old house down and rebuild it. Not just like it was, but not too different. I want to talk to Peter and Cora about it and find something we can all live with. But I need... I can’t do it by myself.”  
“Of course I’ll be there for you you big lug!” Stiles kissed his temple, “If you want I could sweet talk the local termites into having a big block party and get rid of it for you for cheap?”

Derek was amazed that he had laughter inside him along with the pain.  
Stiles had an idea.   
He reached into his pocket carefully, without losing contact with Derek and a few minutes later he was set.

“Derek, get up for a second” He said, pulling the man to his feet, “I want to try something.”

Derek got up, still holding the boy tight to his body.

“Dance with me,” Stiles murmured, “You lead, this time at least.”

Derek was puzzled at Stiles’ suggestion until he heard the music from Stiles’ phone beginning as it lay on the sofa.   
His eyes filled with fresh tears as his heart swelled with a feeling of utter adoration for this wonderful, incredible boy.

“Ok”

They slipped gradually into a more traditional dance pose as they shuffled around the living room. Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller.   
By the end of the music they were actually dancing properly. Stiles was a surprisingly good dancer, although to be honest, Derek would have put up with broken toes and even broken glass underfoot just to be allowed to hold him.  
Derek’s tears still flowed, but it wasn’t painful anymore, it was almost cleansing; like a rainstorm after a muggy day.   
As they danced the door opened quietly and a solemn looking Peter and Cora slipped in with a silent Isaac and Scott following them.   
The four took in the sight of the dancing couple for a few seconds as Stiles’ phone began to play Nat King Cole’s version of Stardust. 

Cora was also crying as Peter took her in his arms and they danced. Peter was in tears too.  
Scott and Isaac stood there with wide eyes until Isaac seemed to make a decision and reached for Scott’s hand.   
They started dancing.

Over the next several minutes, as whatever playlist Stiles had found played song after song of romantic, slow dance and swing music, the pack members arrived and, after an initial pause, began to dance with each other.   
Lydia, Jackson and Allison arrived the same time as Danny and the twins; Allison, after smiling incredibly wide at the sight of Isaac and Scott trying with serious faces and very little space between them to shuffle gracefully, reached for Aiden’s hand and left Danny to be swept into Ethan’s arms.   
Chris and Melissa just chuckled softly at the group and began their own dance.   
When the Sherriff arrived, with a companion, they stood in the doorway for several long seconds to take in the sight.   
The Sherriff was trying to work out what to say to his guest when she just turned to him and held out her arms.

“I’ll even let you lead, Sherriff.”

After another couple of songs Derek and Stiles were whispering to each other.

“I think the pack is here for the meeting Der, we probably need to stop.”  
“Ok, this has been fun though.”  
“It has”  
“Who is your Dad dancing with?”

Stiles looked over at the pair.

“I think that’s The Black Widow.” He said, too mellow to freak out right now.  
“She said she would pop in if they found any more information that might affect us.” Derek said as he swung Stiles out and in and finished with a kiss.  
“I’d better turn the music off before the next song starts” Stiles smiled as he did so.

Everyone seemed relaxed and happier, even the ones who had been crying. 

“Hi Natasha!” Derek said smiling at the woman with the sleek red hair.  
“Hi Derek,” Natasha Romanov replied, actually smiling back for once, “I really like your pack. I’m going to suggest to Steve we introduce dancing to our meetings too; it might clear some of the sexual tension out of the room.”

Before Stiles could ask Lydia and Derek both had their hands across his mouth.

“Let’s get down to business!” Derek said as he dragged a sputtering Stiles over to their seat.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE SACRIFICE  
.  
“Stiles! Focus!”

Deaton could see the magical currents beginning to twist and move as Stiles’ concentration wavered dangerously.   
The ointment he was using was actually less annoying than the one he made himself, but it still stung; he did have to admit that Stiles’ eye drops were extremely useful, his mage sight had never been clearer.

“Sorry Doc!”  
“Don’t apologise Stiles, just fix it. If you’re going to keep using the Telluric Currents now that the Darach has begun to poison them, you need to learn how to shield yourself from their corruption. I don’t even want to think about what might happen to you if you travelled in one of the air or water currents she’s actually used for a sacrifice.”

The golden, magical streams around the boy seemed to twist back until they were flowing across his skin instead of away from it or straight through him.   
Deaton wished that he could differentiate between them, but since his power level had always needed potion or spell assistance to let him see the magic at all, there was no way he could tell them apart.

“What do I do with this blue one?” Stiles asked, “It’s really ugly looking, I think it might be one of hers.”  
“I told you Stiles, I can’t see well enough to tell them apart. Don’t let it touch you just to be safe.”

Deaton noticed one of the multitude of light threads suddenly veer away from and around the cross-legged form sitting on his office floor.

“Stiles buddy! Are you nearly done? I’ve got a date with... Oh... oops.” Scott skidded to a halt as he burst through the door and stopped speaking, but it was already too late.

The young demi-god’s already limited concentration shattered completely and the currents he had been manipulating went crazy.   
It looked like an explosion in a firework factory.   
Deaton only realised what must have happened when Stiles suddenly shrieked and began to convulse on the floor.   
He was either in terrible pain or something worse.

“Stiles! Stiles, listen to my voice. You need to push the corrupted current out of your body, don’t let it run through you. Don’t try to use the power of the current, just reject it, and do it now!”  
“Did I do that?” Scott sounded horrified.  
“Yes! Now stop angsting about it and get my bag... NOW Scott!”

Deaton grabbed a couple of jars from his special stores and opened them. 

“No time to measure...” He muttered to himself, “You’ll appreciate this once you’re up and alert again Stiles!”

With that, Deaton just popped the sealed lids off both bottles and sprinkled about half the contents of each over the writhing boy.

“Bag!” Scott skidded back into the room followed by a worried Isaac.  
“Stiles! Stiles!” Deaton tried to get the boy to respond to him. “Scott, you try! He needs an anchor to bring him back to this reality.”  
“OK, I’ll try” Scott was pale and crying.  
“I’ll call Derek and the Sherriff.” Isaac already had his phone in hand.  
“I thought Derek was in New York again?” Deaton said as he frantically made a potion.   
“He’ll want to know,” Isaac snapped “And maybe his voice would help at least.”  
“Good thinking.”

Scott was trying to call to Stiles.   
The boy was convulsing less, but Deaton couldn’t tell whether that was because he was succeeding at driving the polluted current out of his body or he was just exhausted and too tired to move any more. He could hear Isaac trying to explain as calmly as he could what was happening; the boy was doing an excellent job of it, his voice was only slightly cracking in fright as the tears ran down his face.

“... Derek? What does that mean?” Isaac seemed terribly confused.

Derek obviously shouted something at him, and for some reason Isaac opened the door and looked out into the waiting room. 

“No, we closed up about an hour ago. It’s empty right...”

Isaac dropped his phone as something in the waiting area shocked him to the core.   
Deaton could feel the magic of the area surging and pulsing in a most unusual way; whatever this was it wasn’t Earth Magic.   
He heard a voice coming from the reception room, a voice he didn’t recognise.

“...weteleporttoBeaconHillsweteleporttoBeaconHillsweteleporttoBeaconHillsweteleporttoBeaconHills...”  
“Derek?” Isaac was standing open mouthed looking out of the room.  
“Stiles!” Derek Hale’s roar shook the walls as the man, who Deaton knew should have been almost two and a half thousand miles away came running into the room.

Scott made room for Derek at Stiles’ side as both of them began to talk to the boy.   
Isaac bent to pick up his phone only to find a slender teen with black hair handing it to him with a shy smile.

“Hi, “the boy blushed as Isaac’s eyes widened, “You must be Isaac. I’m Billy.”

Deaton finished his potion and decided to risk reopening the mage sight so he could view Stiles’ progress.

“Get him to drink a little of this if you can,” He said to Derek, handing him the beaker, “Even just a drop or two will help.”

The currents that usually swirled around Stiles were all flowing directly through him, not just the polluted one, but all of them.   
As he watched, Deaton saw more of the golden threads, some of them almost thick enough to be called ropes, twisting into phase near Stiles’ form and plunging into him.   
Several minutes elapsed before each thread re-emerged and went off on its way again.   
Deaton had no idea what was happening.   
Perhaps Stiles might be trying to dilute the corruption by flushing his system with clean currents?   
Deaton’s decided that his guess was as good as any.

“Der?” Stiles sounded terribly weak, but no longer in as much pain.  
“Oh God Stiles!” Scott was frantic, “I didn’t think. I thought you’d be finished by now and I just...”  
“S’kay Scotty...” Stiles was slurring but as Derek dipped his fingers into the potion and dabbed drops onto Stiles’ lips he seemed to gain strength and clarity. “S’uslly me that does that anyway...”

Scott was still terribly guilty, and Derek was busy concentrating on his boyfriend.

“Derek? When did you get back? You only left yesterday?”

Stiles’ eyes were open and he seemed to be regaining his stamina quickly.

“I popped back when I heard you were in trouble.” Derek smiled at him, “Drink this Stiles.”

Stiles obediently swigged the entire flask.

“Whoa!” He exclaimed, sitting up so fast he head butted Scott with a loud crack. 

Scott fell backwards clutching his jaw, while blood spurted from a split lip.

“Ow!” Scott called out as he got up, “Your head is harder than it used to be.”  
“Stiles, come sit on the exam table, let me check what the damage might be.” Deaton asked.

Scott helped Derek lift the boy who was still not quite steady on his feet.

“Is it my imagination or is Stiles heavier than he used to be too?” Scott enquired of Derek.  
“His Asgardian nature is starting to change his body permanently,” Deaton explained “They tend to be at least three times as dense as a normal human, with a corresponding weight change.”  
“Don’t tell Jackson I’m dense!” Stiles giggled.  
“Perhaps drinking the entire flask may have been overkill?” Deaton sighed.  
“What was that stuff?” Derek asked, sniffing his fingers gingerly,

“Liquid happiness,” Deaton was a lot more forthcoming these days, “Basically, a memory or several memories distilled into a potion so that the emotional content of them can be transferred or stored. It’s mostly Earth magic, but I can use just enough Spirit magic to manage it, most of the time.”  
“Where do you get the memories?” Isaac asked.

“I usually get people who want me to do something for them, cast a spell, design a ritual, to pay at least part of my fee in happy memories and I make it then and there. You can’t store them, or at least, I can’t. As you saw, the potion is actually one of the quicker and easier ones to make in a hurry. It’s dangerous though; if used too often they can become both addictive and debilitating.”  
“If you can’t store them then where did you...?” Derek stopped talking and stared at the Vet with shining eyes.

Deaton just shrugged slightly as he nodded that Derek’s assumption was correct.

“What happens to the memory?” Derek was worried “Does the person... did you just forget it?”  
“No, the memory will become a simple memory for a time, anything from a few weeks to a year or so. During that time the person will remember the facts, but not the emotion associated with it. You would, for example, be able to recall perfectly every detail of being present at the birth of your child, but none of the joy or excitement or love would be in the memory until it had grown back.”  
“Why would someone want to do something so horrible?” Scott was appalled.

“No,” Isaac thought about it, “It’s not like the emotion is gone forever. It’s like a blood transfusion Scott. If someone is really depressed or hurt, you can use a drop of two of that potion to keep them going while you help them in other ways. Giving blood makes you weaker and sicker for a time, well, before I became a wolf it did, but...”

He suddenly stopped talking and gasped in fear as he looked at the young teenager who had picked up his phone.

“Hey!” the kid... Billy! smiled, raising his hands to show he meant no threat, “It’s cool! Derek had already explained that part to us just before you called him.”  
“Us?” Scott was a little tense too.  
“Oh shit!” Billy exclaimed, “I said I’d call as soon as I got here! Teddy’s going to murder me!”  
“Is Teddy your Dad?” Isaac was a little pale as he asked that.

“No! Ew!” Billy laughed as he frantically got his phone from his pocket and hit speed dial. “You have really good signal here by the way guys!...Teddy!... I know baby, I’m so sorry, I got distracted by things here and... yeah, he is... he was Ted, it was so sweet, you should have seen them... I’ll ask, I think he’ll say yes... Oh you have no idea man, you better watch yourself, even I am tempted!... OK, see you soon babe.”

Scott and Isaac had been lectured enough by the Sherriff and Melissa and had very carefully tried not to listen in.   
As a result they had only heard the occasional word.

“Teddy is my boyfriend... oops, I mean fiancé!” He showed them a simple but lovely ring, “It’s only been four days, so I still forget sometimes. We’re going to get married after graduation, which is still two years away, at least, so I’ll have time to get used to it!”  
“Aren’t you a little young?” Scott asked.  
“Same age as you lot!” Billy sassed, “Well... almost. We got an early admission to college. Two years engagement at minimum, so we’ll both be legal by the time we’re ready. Assuming we graduate on time.”

“Billy and Teddy are part of an Initiative sponsored by the Avengers and SHIELD.” Derek said, “We were at Avengers Tower getting to know each other so that they would know about the supernatural community a bit better. Natasha asked me if I could last week when she dropped off that intel.”  
“Wow! I know who you are!” Stiles was a little calmer, but still slightly amped up, “How cool is this!”  
“Is he ok now Doc?” Scott asked nervously.

“He seems fine,” Deaton said, “Although I’m a little concerned about the way the currents are acting around him now. I suggest you go for a drive Stiles, a long drive, with Derek or Scott driving. See if leaving the immediate area helps calm them down; over the county line at least would be good.”  
“Would a trip to New York be bad or good?” Billy asked.  
“I don’t think he needs to drive that far,” Deaton said dryly, “But it would probably help to get as far from Beacon Hills as possible for a few hours at least.”  
“I could drive him.” Scott said. “It’s my fault he got hurt.”  
“You said you had a date.” Stiles scolded, “Ally might kill me.”

“It’s... uh... well... actually...” Scott suddenly seemed unable to speak, or look anyone in the face.

Stiles suddenly narrowed his eyes at Scott, then wheels turned in his head and he fixed Isaac with a gimlet stare.

“Who asked whom?” He said with a very serious voice.

Isaac seemed about to bolt from the room.

“Uh...” Scott was a great help.  
“Neither?” Isaac finally sighed, “Allison just organised a night with the girls for herself, told us which clothes to wear and bought us our favourite snacks. We’re going to see a movie. Allison suggested Guardians of the Galaxy.”  
“Any other instructions?” Stiles smirked.  
“Not to come home until after midnight and she wants to watch the goodnight... um...uh... you know...”

Isaac’s ability to talk ran out about there.  
Stiles held his hand out to Derek who sighed dramatically, reached into his pocket and pulled a fifty from his wallet then handed it to Stiles.   
Stiles snapped the note triumphantly a few times before shoving it into a pocket.

“Another brick in my college scholarship fund!”

Derek frowned at that.

“Stiles! I already told you and your dad that I intended to pay for colleges and universities.”   
“And what did Pops say?”  
“We’re still discussing it. I’ve already set up a fund for the whole pack you realise; I’m not being a charity here. It’s just how a pack should work.”  
“And you are selling the apartment Laura and you own in New York to fund it?” Stiles demanded.

Derek was puzzled.

“No? What gave you that idea?”  
“Cora said you were really going to New York to empty the place out, that’s why you didn’t want company. You want to be alone to wallow in your man-pain.”  
“I am clearing it out, but not to sell. It and a couple of other apartments in the building are getting refurbished.”  
“You own an apartment in New York?” Scott was amazed, Billy seemed impressed too.  
“Where is it Man?” Billy asked.  
“In the Village; near Washington Square Park.”  
“Whoa! I go to NYU! I might walk past it every day! There are some nice places there. How big is the one you own?”

Derek mumbled something and shifted his feet.

“Not even the wolves caught that Sourwolf, what did you say?”

Derek sighed.

“I said, the Hale Trust sort of owns the whole building.”  
“You own an apartment building in New York and you used to sleep in an abandoned train station?”

Stiles was making an excellent case for people mistaking HIM for the pack’s Banshee.

“What part of trying to hide from Hunters escaped your attention?”  
“What part of unsanitary and just plain NO!!! escaped yours?”  
“I’m living in a better place now at least!”  
“Only because it’s practically abandoned and empty.”  
“It’s empty because I was planning on remodelling the apartments and make them more upmarket.”  
“What? You mean you own that building too?”  
“I own a lot of buildings Stiles, or rather my family does. Beacon Hills has been here for almost 200 years; my family was here BEFORE then.”  
“How rich are we talking? On a scale of impoverished student on a scholarship to Warren Buffett?”  
“Well... My Grandparents invited him to their wedding, and went to his.”

“Why did you never tell anyone?”  
“Stiles, I thought you were the one who helped Peter reclaim his identity and his bank accounts? Surely you must have noticed then that he was loaded; as in about two hundred and fifty million? That’s just his personal wealth! The Hale’s have had a trust fund set up since the 1800’s! We own about a dozen apartment blocks in New York alone, and a few Brownstones too.”  
“I didn’t peek!” Stiles squawked, “I do have rules you know. I’d only peek at someone’s finances if it was really necessary.”  
“Is that why you’ve practically bankrupted Deucalion over the last couple of months?” Isaac asked. “There are a lot of very happy charities out there recently.”

“Anyway, enough of this! Derek, you need to get back to New York the way... um... however you got here?” Stiles paused in confusion then just shrugged and kept going, “Scotty, you need to take this well scarfed scarf model out to scarf down some Italian or something (followed by scarfing a little Mexican perhaps?), and I can just drive myself over the county line and find a Denny’s or something.” 

Scott and Isaac were blushing terribly at Stiles’ remarks and Derek was just sighing.

“Or...” Billy said slowly to get their attention, “You could all come to NYC with me. I’ll bring you back before any curfews, promise! You two can find somewhere to be alone there, if you want...” 

He indicated Scott and Isaac.

“... or all four of you can come and meet Teddy and triple date with us. Seriously! I can drop you back as easily as I take you. Come meet them and then decide if you want to go it alone or as a mob. We we’re heading out after the meeting anyway. So...want to come and meet some cool superhero types... and Teddy?”  
“If you feel any pain or illness, come back at once Stiles, or actually...” Deaton scribbled a number on a notepad and tore the page off for Stiles “Call that number at once. Tell the man who answers that Alan Deaton told you to ring and that you need his master at once. They’ll know who you are.”

“Who is...” Stiles looked at the paper.  
“An old college buddy, “Deaton smiled, which was always a shock. “Not many people realise this, but I am actually trained in human medicine as well as veterinary. We met in a first year Anatomy class and became friends. We lost touch for a while like a lot of college friends do, but we’re back in pretty regular contact these days. He owes me more than one favour.”  
“What’s his name?” Stiles said, a terrible suspicion filling him.

“Stephen.” Deaton smiled “Now, off you go, and have fun!”   
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
ONE WEEK BEFORE THE SACRIFICE  
.  
“It’s the only thing that makes sense Stiles!”

Lydia was waving the printout of a page she had downloaded from the museum’s website.

“Just because it makes sense doesn’t mean it’s correct.” Stiles pointed out.  
“Why are they arguing now?” Danny asked Allison as they worked away at their homework.  
“Same reason,” Allison sighed, “Lydia is still mad at Stiles that he didn’t get to meet Tony or Pepper last week.”  
“Not even Stiles could be responsible for them being in Italy when he was visiting Avengers Tower.” Danny frowned, “What’s the real reason?”  
“I think Stiles is up to something he doesn’t want the rest of us to know about.” Allison frowned at the pair still arguing as they went into the kitchen, “Lydia is suspicious of him anyway.”

“Ah! That explains her request for Stiles’ browser history.”  
“Did you spot anything?”  
“No, he’s mostly been examining things about Grandpa Yggdrasil, and some sites that deal with Druids and sacrifices. Lydia is better than me at spotting patterns anyway.”  
“Not as good as Stiles unfortunately.” Allison bit her bottom lip. “I’m worried about him; you know what he’s like. If we can’t figure out a way to stop Jennifer, Julia, whatever her name is, and also stop the Alpha pack, then Stiles will do something drastic.”

Danny nodded at her words.

“Stop harassing me Lydia! I know what I’m doing, ok?”  
“That’s what I’m afraid of! You care too much about us and not enough about yourself Stiles! If you make me scream for you I will never forgive you.”  
“I just know that something bad is going to happen, and soon. It must be the Norn in me coming through.”  
“Do you have any norn genes?” Allison asked “I thought Loki changed your mom into a human/dryad hybrid?”  
“He did, but there’s been some development on that front. Dr Simmons consulted an expert in the field and it turns out Loki’s spells worked on me less like rewriting a book, and more like over-writing a computer file.”  
“Ah!” Danny seemed to understand that.  
“Ok, lost now.” Allison didn’t.

“When you delete something on a computer, “Danny explained, “Most of the time you aren’t actually erasing it, you’re just reallocating those parts of the memory to general use. The information is still there, but there’s no longer any connection to it. Eventually, if you’re creating lots of new files or downloading things, the memory get overwritten with new information, but until that happens, the original files are all still there, just... lost. It’s why the FBI and SHIELD can get so much information if they can access the actual physical memory of a system; and why if you really want to hide or lose something, you need to use an electromagnet and wipe all the traces from the drive.”  
“So Stiles...?”  
“When Loki transformed my Mom, he didn’t erase her norn nature, he just changed the ‘file names’ to make her a Human. Same thing when he used his own cells to make Dad and Thor’s genetics stop arguing. He was only intending on using the bridging nature of Odin’s magic, but although he had ‘removed’ the Jotun nature, it was still there. Charles thinks that Loki’s magic is additive rather than subtractive, meaning his spells write new genetic code rather than overwriting the previous genes. Which means that occasionally the hidden genes manifest too. It explains my hunches a lot, the norns are a little like Yggdrasil in that they have a pretty loose relationship with linear time.”  
“And this Charlie knows his stuff?” Danny asked.  
“He’s got more degrees than Jemma does!” Stiles grinned, “From Oxford no less! He wants a chance to examine me psychically sometime soon!”  
“Don’t you mean physically?” Lydia raised a brow elegantly.  
“That too! His school thingy is in upstate New York, so I’ve got even more excuses to go visit the excellent adventurers!”

“Was Loki there when you had your double date?” Allison asked.  
“No, but Thor was, he’s still acting all weird. Either he tries to pretend he hasn’t noticed I’m in the room, or he’s practically picking me up and carrying me around so I don’t stub my toes.”  
“He’s just a little freaked out Stiles.” Lydia hugged him just in case he needed a hug. (plus hugging Stiles was its own reward these days; the boy had gotten buff)  
“I know that. It must be terrifying to suddenly discover, after a thousand years of being single that you’re a Dad, sort of, and your son being a multispecies spaz can’t help.”  
“How’s the pollution going anyway?” Danny hadn’t seen a lot of Stiles since the incident at the Vet’s.  
“I keep dragging in more and more currents,” Stiles moaned, “and I can’t stop it because I don’t know how I started it in the first place. Just when I think I’ve finally finished, I wake up and another one is plugging in. Some of them are definitely more of Jennifer Whatshername’s corrupted leys, but for some reason they bother me less and less each time I find one. The biggest problem I’m having is every time I try to use my magic, even casting a spell without cheating, it overpowers and I blow something up. I just about get a handle on it and then something distracts me and BOOM!”

“Is that what happened to Mr Abernathy’s garden gnome?” Danny asked.  
“No, that was deliberate. Have you seen that thing? Evil, I tell you, pure evil, with a fishing rod.”  
“What does Deaton say?” Danny felt no pain about the gnome, he had seen it.  
“As little as possible?” Stiles snarked, “He’s as lost as we are. It’s not like this has ever happened before. The best he could come up with was a couple of books about how to create a confluence focus, like Stonehenge. There’s a section in them that sounds a little like what’s happening to me, except that it usually takes several GENERATIONS of Druids working nonstop for a couple of hundred years; and no one has a clue what the corruption of half the elemental currents in Beacon Hills is going to do to me once I absorb them all.”  
“I thought you said they were passing through you?” Lydia had made coffee for everyone, except Stiles, caffeine and him were still uneasy companions and though he could now cope with a little, it was wisest to time the doses carefully. She gave him a glass of something.

“Is this another one of Erica’s experiments?” He asked staring at the strangely coloured liquid with suspicion.  
“No, it’s one of mine.” Lydia smiled sweetly, “I call it a Stiles Special.”

Stiles sipped it tentatively, then seemed surprised.

“It’s got a funny after taste, but it’s actually really good!”  
“Cranberry juice, coconut water, pineapple juice and honey, add a shot of seaweed extract and top up with ice and sparkling water.”  
“Seaweed?” Allison asked. “As in nori sheets?”  
“Seaweed extract as in plant growth promoter from the nursery.” Lydia explained, “That’s why it’s in a jug labelled ‘not suitable for non plants’. I figured the honey would sweeten the taste.”  
“It’s really moreish!” Stiles was not gulping it down, but only because he had learned to fake self control really well. “You could try a shot of wheatgrass or something for humans. It’s too good to miss out on.”  
“I was thinking of adding vodka to it when we have our next party.” Lydia smiled. 

“You’re still human Stiles,” Allison hadn’t missed his slight wince when he made his joke. “After all, this is the Team Human meeting we’re having while the furry ones are out running in the forest.”  
“Technically I’m here because of my own protection protocols, which mandate that no group of wolves should be without a human, and no group of humans should be without at least one wolf, for muscle etc. I hope your Dad is enjoying the fresh air Ally!”  
“You’re stronger than a wolf.” Lydia pointed out, “Even without using magic.”  
“And you heal at least 4 to 5 times faster than a human, assuming anyone can actually hurt you these days.” Allison pointed out too “Oh, did Dad apologise for that shooting incident the other night?”

“Oh, you mean when I turned up to deliver the soup to Melissa after her shift? Yeah, it was my own fault really. Derek yelled at me for sneaking out alone as well. The guys guarding her had heard me coming, and I was actually on the phone to Melissa as I walked out of the tree. Still, they probably should have asked me to stop before shooting me. What if I had been a jogger?”  
“At 2am?” Lydia asked.  
“Did it hurt?” Danny hadn’t heard about this incident.

“Only my pride. I even blocked the soup from getting hit with my other hand.”  
“They shot him with two soft-nosed Wolfsbane bullets at ten yards and the bullets just hit his skin and deformed. You should have seen Mitch’s face!” Allison found the darndest things amusing.  
“Yeah, but I can’t drive Roscoe until they reinforce the suspension!” Stiles pouted, “It’s so annoying. I have to get a lift with Dad in the Patrol Car, or in the SUV Derek borrowed from SHIELD. No other vehicle can take my weight otherwise.”  
“How much do you weigh now?” Allison asked at the same time Danny wanted to know who was paying for the repairs?  
“Derek is getting the Camaro done at the same time he says, so he just took Roscoe away!” Stiles was torn between gratitude and crossness, “And about 300 lbs now, it’s ridiculous.”  
“You can get a lift with Jackson and me if you want.” Lydia smiled at him. “I figured this might happen, and when I mentioned it to Jackson last night, he’d already thought of it too and he had the Porsche fitted with the extra suspension a couple of weeks ago, just in case.”

Stiles didn’t quite know how to deal with that, so he drank his fertiliser and changed the topic.

“OK, back to our planning. I suspect that Julijennifera...”

Lydia made a face.

“...or whatever she calls herself is going to make a move next weekend. It’s full moon, but also a lunar eclipse, so Deucalion and his dancing wolves will be both overconfident before and vulnerable during the eclipse.”  
“So will our wolves surely?” Danny pointed out.  
“She’s probably also going to be thinking about completing the final triplet of her sacrifices, which I really don’t want her to do. Both because, hello, dead people and also because she’s already corrupted that stupid dead stump beyond the point at which we can consider any course of action but destroying it.”  
“What would that do to the leys?” Allison was learning about this stuff.

“Mess them up something awful” Lydia drawled, “The best alternative would be to create a new Nemeton, but Deaton doesn’t know how to do that any way but the traditional way, that’s where he found those books, in his search. Even getting the entire Druid Council to come here to help it will take at least FIFTY years to grow a Nemeton to replace the old one, and during that time we either have to put up with a corrupted semi-sentient undead tree trying to draw the supernatural to town so it can be killed to provide it with power...”  
“Or we destroy it and turn Beacon Hills into a chaotic mess of tangled and overcharged Telluric Currents where even ordinary people will start to notice things like their mailboxes spontaneously singing or their birthday cake wishes coming true, literally.”  
“Just as well you got that damned Gnome then” Danny muttered, “No one would be safe if that animated.”

“I’m going to try to head things off by going to see her tomorrow.” Stiles said firmly, “Scott tried to talk to Duke Nutty and the Crackers, but they were too demanding and way to skeevy to be trusted as far as I... as far as Danny could throw them.”  
“And the Darach will be safer?” Lydia seemed unconvinced.  
“Well, she’s only one person, and actually has a simple, if raging reason for being crazy. Duke and the others are just crazy in a complicated rainbow of ways.”

“Has Natasha gotten back to us with confirmed numbers yet?” Danny asked, suddenly reminded of the last pack meeting.  
“No,” Allison sighed, “SHIELD still estimates between ten and twenty HYDRA personnel were ‘gifted’ to Deucalion. Dad says he has three confirmed incidents of entire packs being killed with a five hundred mile radius of here; plus one or two rumours. So there’s going to be seven Alphas at least in Duke’s new gang. No one knows if they’re keeping the rest of their betas as extra numbers or killing them to boost their power. We can’t expect Deucalion to do anything predictable.”

“I expect you to die, Mr Bond!” Stiles was quoting movies again, always a bad sign.

“Stiles, how’s your sleeping been going now Derek is back?” Danny asked.  
“Better, I’m not having quite so many nightmares anymore, it’s the daymares that scare me now.”  
“Daytime dreams?” Lydia was worried, “When you’re awake?”  
“It’s worst when I’m trying to focus on controlling my magic. Even trying to make a Wizard object is impossible now, and that doesn’t even use the currents at all! I get to the point where I’m about to complete a stage and I start imagining all these voices screaming or crying at me, it’s awful!”  
“What sort of voices?” Allison asked.  
“Heather is there a lot, and Vetta, even old Mrs Goldfarb, my second grade teacher, all the people I let her kill. My imagination must hate me.”

“Stiles...” Lydia seemed alarmed by something. “What if it isn’t your imagination?”  
“Oh great! You mean I’m being haunted by...”  
“No! I mean, we know their souls were torn from their bodies by her sacrifice, what if the echoes are still in the currents she used to commit the murders? The current that are now...”  
“Even if you’re right, how does knowing that help me to...”  
“I’m a Banshee.”  
“I know you are.”  
“Why do Banshee’s wail?”  
“Dramatic Effect?” Stiles smiled at Lydia’s sigh.  
“I’ve looked it up, it’s so we can hear the voices of the dead more clearly.”  
“Making a skull-splitting screaming noise makes it easier to hear?” Stiles was unimpressed by Irish Mythology and its grasp of cause and effect.  
“It drowns out all but the voice we want to hear... or at least that’s how it’s supposed to work.” Lydia frowned. “I need more practice, but irony of ironies, just when a fresh supply of local murder victims would actually have a silver lining, no one is dying.”  
“Practice on Stiles,” Danny said, “If you can get his voices to quieten down, maybe it will get his magic back on line?”

“Or at least let ME decide what blows up instead of semi-random chance!”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
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.  
THE DAY BEFORE THE SACRIFICE  
.  
“Stiles? What’s wrong?”  
“My Dad isn’t picking up.”

Isaac stopped folding laundry and frowned.

“Have you tried his cell?”  
“That was me trying it, he’s meant to have gone straight home after dropping Melissa and her guards home from her shift. Phil called and Derek, Danny, Erica and Boyd had to go meet them at the airfield so there wasn’t anyone to cover my Dad. He is in the Patrol Car, so he should be safe for the few minutes to get himself home.”  
“Try home again, I’ll see if he’s still with Melissa.”

After several attempts they were both a little freaked out.

“I’m calling Scott and Allison.” Isaac frowned, “They’re over at Chris’ with Cora, doing their History, I think.”  
“I’ll see if Peter knows anything, he’s at Deaton’s.”

Peter knew nothing, and was already on his way to the loft to pick up Stiles and Isaac and take them to the Stilinski house.   
The twins and Deaton were grabbing Lydia and Jackson and meeting them there.

“Allison says she’s heard nothing. Chris can’t get a response from Mitch or Keith so he’s going to check at McCall’s house. Chris already has them in the car and they’ll meet us at your place afterwards.”

Stiles’ phone began to ring; it wasn’t his father’s ring tone.

“Derek! Dad is missing and Melissa is not answering her phone either.”  
“Coulson thinks he may have lost someone last night, that’s what the summons was about. I can’t talk about it over the phone.”  
“We’re meeting up at my place.” Stiles’ voice was very thin.  
“Do not leave the loft without...”  
“Peter’s on his way Derek, he said he’d rather be the one at risk alone than letting me or Isaac get hurt.”  
“Where are the twins?”  
“Getting Screamer and Moaner.”  
“You know Lydia will kill you if she hears that nickname.”  
“It’s worth the risk!” Stiles needed to make bad jokes right now.

“Peter just did a slide into the driveway in that SHIELD SUV, I didn’t know you could do that sort of thing except in the movies!” Isaac was impressed at the seamless 180degree turn.  
“So do you think Deucalion has...?”  
“No, it’s Jennifer Blake. I hoped she’d stick to our bargain but...”  
“Are you sure Stiles?” Isaac asked as he pushed the button for the elevator.  
“No time for that Zak, I’ll catch you.” Stiles had no sooner said that then he was leaping over the railing and falling the fifty feet or so to the ground.

Isaac just looked over to check Stiles was upright and leapt into his arms.

“Are you both insane?” Peter screeched as they got into the SUV, “I thought I was the crazy one!”  
“I know I can fall that far.” Stiles said simply, “I did tests. I don’t usually fall on my face until about sixty feet and it doesn’t start hurting my knees until over a hundred.”  
“I trust Mom.”

Stiles turned in his seat to glare at the curly haired youth.

“Not your Mom!”  
“But you make me feel safe and loved like she used to.” Isaac said quietly, “And you protect me from the bad guys so...”

Stiles’ face softened a little.

“Alright, I’ll let it slide on rare occasions, but only you can say it! No one else!”

He gave Peter a stink-eye so potent Isaac was sure the window tinting was bubbling.

“Well done Isaac,” Peter sub-vocalised as Stiles began to try ringing his Dad again, “Well distracted!”

Peter knew Isaac’s wolf hearing would pick up the murmur without Stiles being able to hear anything more than Peter seeming to whistle under his breath.  
Stiles’ phone rang out again.  
The drive to the Stilinski house was, needless to say, tense.

“Stiles!” Derek was wrapping his arms around the boy even as he ran into the hall.  
“Is everyone here?” Stiles asked.

The sound of a high performance sports-car sliding to a perfect park in the driveway answered that question; he’d already spotted Chris’ vehicle.

“How did you fit five people in a Porsche?” Erica asked as they finally all settled into the living room for a war council.  
“Four,” Lydia shuddered, “three normal people and one really big person.”  
“The twins do that creepy incest cuddle again?” Stiles asked. Everyone was cutting him a little extra slack so even Aiden just rolled his eyes.  
“It is a fascinating, if somewhat disturbing talent.” Deaton was blander than a plain rice cracker.

“So Jennifer has my Dad, and probably Melissa as well.” Stiles began. “Scott, how are you holding up?”

Scott’s answer was to lift his head from Allison’s lap where he had been lying while she carded her fingers through his hair to show his eyes glowing crimson and his fangs growing and shrinking in his mouth.

“Ok... ew... hang in there. She won’t be doing anything to them until tomorrow night so we’ve got time to rescue them.”  
“How do you know that Stiles?” Danny asked, “And how can you be so sure it’s Ms Blake and not the Alpha pack?”  
“I asked him that too!” Isaac chipped in, “But he just jumped over the balcony of the loft and fell four floors.”  
“What?” Derek seemed upset.  
“What did you do?” Erica asked.  
“Jumped after him of course,” Isaac said simply “I knew he’d catch me.”

“Stiles?” Danny wanted an answer it seemed.  
“Three people are missing,” Stiles said, pulling out one of his evidence boards from his Dad’s office. “If it was Deucalion he’d already have been boasting about it. If it was Kali or Ennis we’d have three corpses not three missing people, plus Melissa and Dad would both qualify for the final triplet, as Guardians. Who did SHIELD lose?”  
“They’re not sure, but they think it might be Nick Fury.” Derek was trying to calm Stiles down but it wasn’t working.  
“Seriously? Their former Director? The one everyone thinks died during that whole Winter Soldier thing?” Stiles was waving his arms as usual, scattering push pins like wedding rice. “Well he’d definitely qualify too then.”  
“What do you mean they ‘think’ it was him?” Cora asked Derek.

“Well, he was last reported in this area checking up on the HYDRA leads. He hasn’t reported in to the few people he reports in to; neither Coulson or Hill can get in contact with him via any of his emergency channels and they’ve found a couple of sketchy, but matching reports of a ‘one-eyed guy in a ratty coat being bashed on the head by some sort of ghost then vanishing away’. The three guys were pretty drunk, but they don’t know each other and have no reason to lie about it.”  
“Did they identify Fury from a picture?” Stiles liked his evidence checked and rechecked.  
“Two of them did, but Phil said they seemed unsure. The third guy admitted that he was certain about the coat and the ‘pirate patch’, but it was pretty dark last night so he didn’t see much more than that.”

“Boyd, top drawer of the red filing cabinet, you’ll find a folder labelled ‘Ordinance Maps’, bring it here would you?” Stiles was truly frightening when the mask of the joker slipped and people saw just how competent he was underneath it.  
“Are you going to try to Scry for him?” Lydia noticed Stiles had a wooden box filled with chains and strings of all sorts of materials.  
“Yep. Isaac, run up to Dad’s room and grab his hairbrush will you?”

Isaac was a blur.  
Deaton opened his ubiquitous black bag and withdrew a slender glass vial.

“I have a tincture of Eyebright that might help.”  
“Stiles... Isn’t your magic sort of... exploding a lot?” Scott asked worriedly, “I want Mom back too, but...”  
“Lydia and I have been finding a workaround for my little problem!” Stiles grinned. It didn’t have any real happiness in it though. “Lyds?”  
“Hang on Stiles, you know I need a few minutes to get the pitch right.”

The wolves all braced for the usual pain when Lydia screamed but there was only mild discomfort.

“Nod when you have it Lydia,” Stiles ordered, “You’re getting faster at this, well done!”

He felt the sudden subsiding of the chaos around and inside him and whipped the crystal wrapped with the hairs from his dad’s brush over the map.

“Damn, she’s blocking it, or the damned weed is. I’ll have to go to plan B.”  
“Plan B?” Scott said numbly.

Lydia almost collapsed as she let the low pitched scream she had been sustaining die finally.

“Stiles probably has at least up to Plan K mapped out in full,” Peter drawled from the back of the room, next to Chris, “And sketches for the rest of the alphabet too I’d imagine.”  
“Chris, could you...” Stiles made a tapping gesture against his ear as he dialled a number in his phone’s directory.

Chris nodded and pushed the little device the wolves all hated,

...  
“Julia, what have you done this for?” Stiles sounded very, very dangerous.  
...  
“I’m disappointed Julia, but I can sort of see your point. It would, however, be most foolish to forget that Deucalion and his mangy mutts may be the most pressing threat, but it is never wise to burn your bridges, especially when you are still on them.”  
...  
“If it comes to that you already know my answer, but I’m sure it won’t. I’d advise you however to make sure to be a kindly and gentle hostess. There are worse things than being torn limb from limb you know, although Kali might disagree with me on that point.”  
...  
“We will keep our end of the bargain do not fear, but if you harm even a hair...”  
...  
“If you do that, then I would no longer feel any restraint against doing my worst Julia. You think what Kali did to you was bad? I would strongly advise you not to underestimate me.”  
...  
“I’ll be there.”

He hung up.   
Stiles’ face was like stone and his eyes were flickering red.

“She has them then?” Derek was practically holding him up now.  
“They’ll be safe for now.” Stiles was shaking, “She’s not going to hurt them, she needs them alive for the sacrifice; and if we do what we promised and help her destroy Duke and the Alphas then she’ll have no need to complete the ritual.”  
“Can we trust her to release them even after it’s safe?” Peter was worried.  
“I don’t know,” Stiles sighed, “But we have to face our enemies one at a time or we’ll be overwhelmed.”  
“Phil is calling in reinforcements,” Derek said as he kissed Stiles on the forehead, “But they’re still finishing off a mission in Africa so...”  
“So they might not get here in time, I know.”  
“It’s early, but do we need food?” Peter asked.  
“Call for Chinese.” Chris said, “We can go pick it up.”

Peter nodded.

“Lydia, want to go practice in the yard till food gets here?” Stiles was trying to sound chipper.  
“She’s tired Stilinski.” Jackson snapped until Lydia put her hand on his arm and stood up.  
“Without Stiles’ magic we’re probably doomed,” She said stretching, “And he can’t concentrate enough to do anything but the most basic things unless I scream to silence the ghosts haunting the currents. We don’t have time for me to develop enough stamina to keep the scream going for long, so I need to learn how to do it fast and reliably. That way when Stiles gives me a signal I can be ready so he can let loose without danger.”

Jackson bit his lip and nodded in understanding.

“Come on Stiles, let’s see you make me scream again!”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
SACRIFICE  
.  
“Julia.”  
“Stiles.”  
“What time did you tell Duke to meet you?”   
“An hour before the eclipse. He’ll be sure he and his new pack will have the numbers to overwhelm us.”  
“My pack will be here soon, I gave them the slip so we could have a nice chat.”  
“Your father, the woman and the one eyed spy are still sleeping. The balance of the mistletoe draught is quite tricky, but it’s safe, so long as they aren’t disturbed the wrong way.”  
“You won’t need sacrifices, they will not be required.”  
“And if there is a need? Then they are here and ready, I do like to be efficient.”

Stiles made a step towards her and she raised a long, gnarled yew branch in defence.

“Ah ah! Let’s keep things nice shall we.”  
“You won’t need them.” Stiles said again. Julia nodded carefully in response.

The pack arrived that moment and everything became a whirl of communications testing and last minute planning.   
Teams and fight buddies were assigned and Stiles circled the stump of the Nemeton with Mountain Ash powder to create a safe space for Lydia, Allison and himself to stand and direct the fight with Julia.   
Julia was busy with her own preparations and soon after she began to chant a wild wind sprang up and clouds began to skid across the night sky.

“Chris, Keith and Mitch are out there with Danny to make sure any HYDRA wolves don’t cheat and bring guns to a claw fight.” Stiles informed the Darach.  
“They won’t, Deucalion is an arrogant and proud fool.”  
“Takes one to know...” Stiles muttered, not really caring if she heard him.  
“Deaton! Are you in position?” Danny’s voice came over the headsets.  
“I am here at the triage point as planned.” Deaton sounded very Zen.  
“We’ve got hostiles coming in!” Chris said, “I’m counting 15.”  
“Damn!” Stiles swore.

The rain began.  
.  
It was a dark and stormy night, Stiles thought as he looked around him, gotta love a good cliché.

The cloud were pretty patchy though and the full moon managed to illuminate the area well enough to see by, just; otherwise the humans would have been relying on the intermittent flashes of lightning.   
Not that the lightning was infrequent.  
Stiles shuddered as he felt another bolt hit a taller tree somewhere close by.

The wind swirled around them, foiling even Allison’s efforts at precision.   
The rain was enough to make the ground slippery and the people in it miserable, but not enough to wash the blood from their faces and bodies completely.

Stiles heard Allison and Lydia scream as he saw Erica, who had been standing to his left, over the unmoving form of her beloved, attacked from behind by the hulking figure of Ennis.   
The giant Alpha struck with no warning and almost tore her spine from her body, but he didn’t strike to kill instantly. He deliberately hit her so that her death was, although still inevitable, sure to be slow and painful. The brute turned to Stiles and grinned triumphantly, lifting his head to howl his derision at the boy.

Derek and Jackson, who were fighting somewhere in the brush to his right, howled also, but in anger and pain.   
Stiles couldn’t see the others, although he could hear the crashing and growling of wolves through the thick growth behind him, on the far side of the clearing.

Ennis had made a fatal mistake though, for even as his head was raised to howl, Peter burst from the trees and into the bare area and struck, his anger granting him incredible strength.   
His attack, obviously aimed at Ennis’ throat, was more successful than expected as Ennis’ head was torn completely off and his body collapsed, spilling even more blood over the convulsing, slowly dying form of Erica.

Peter staggered a little in shock and then howled in pain as his eyes changed from their glowing blue to the bright crimson of an Alpha and his body seemed to twist and thicken even as Stiles watched.   
The twins, who had been working with Peter, reeled back in surprise.   
Then Scott stumbled into the clearing and froze as he saw the carnage before him and Peter’s Alpha form.

Well that’s the crappy icing on the poop cake, thought Stiles. 

They were losing.

Even as Lydia screamed again, Stiles didn’t want to know who was in danger now, he made his decision and turned to the woman standing beside him.

“I’ll do it. Take me instead of them. On your oath, you will take the power, destroy the Alphas and then leave without harming my pack. Swear it!”

Jennifer Blake smiled at him.

“I so swear.”  
“Stiles! No!” Lydia was close enough to hear, even over the storm and the shouting.  
“It’s my decision Lydia!”  
“Stiles! You need to think about...!”  
“No Lydia. I’m through listening to you anymore. Your plan sucked. Leave now, while you can. You’re a lying witch. Go back to your wardrobe and count your shoes; what happens here is none of your business!”

Lydia looked at him with puzzled eyes, then she seemed to make a decision.

“You’re sure this is what is right?” She asked slowly.

Stiles just nodded.

“I’ll stay.”

Lydia was pale, but proud.

Jennifer wrapped the garrotte around Stiles’ neck and led him two steps to stand against the stump of the Nemeton.   
With feline speed she drew a knife from her jacket and cut his throat across, the blood spraying onto the dead grey surface of the tree’s remains.

“Stiles! No!” Derek sounded frantic, but he was too far away, even for a wolf, and the Ash barrier prevented him approaching them anyway.

Stiles staggered in shock, only held up by Jennifer’s inhuman strength as she tightened the rope and began to strangle him.   
She lifted the twisted branch she had threatened him with when they first arrived and struck him across the back of the head.  
Stiles fell across the top of the Nemeton as he heard Derek and Lydia both screaming for him.

He felt his blood draining from his body, onto the stump beneath him and watched as it soaked into the dead wood and disappeared.  
Everything went black.  
.  
.  
.  
Peter dropped to his knees beside the barely alive Erica and plunged his claws into her body.

“What the hell are you doing to her?” Scott screamed, torn between anguish at his brother’s murder and rage at Peter’s actions.  
“An Alpha has a power to heal a pack member,” Peter ground out between gritted teeth, “By giving up the spark of extra magic that makes them an Alpha. It is dangerous and doesn’t always work, and can result...” He seemed to be in terrible pain “... doesn’t always work, and even if it does, sometimes the Alpha dies as well and not just instead...” Erica seemed to be healing, but so, so slowly. “Too much for one Alpha... but...She is worth more to this pack than me. Stiles and Derek will... need her more than me... I only hope Boyd is still living or she won’t make it anyway...”

He turned to look at Scott.   
His eyes were almost entirely blue now, only a hint of Alpha red in them, and he seemed to be dying in front of the boy.

“I’m sorry Scott.”

Scott was shaken.

“Boyd is alive.” Aiden said, seeing the slow rise and fall and the healing wounds on the large boy’s body.

“One Alpha isn’t enough?” Scott suddenly knelt, “What about two?”

He plunged his claws into the battered body and started to concentrate.   
Suddenly Aiden and Ethan were grabbing him and pulling him away violently.

“No!” Ethan shouted, “Derek will need you to calm him down if Stiles is gone, or kill him if he goes feral. You’re the strongest Alpha here.”

The twins knelt and began to channel their power into Erica’s form.

“Like Peter said... She’s worth more than us.” Aiden was leaning on his brother as their eyes began to flicker from red to blue.  
.  
.  
.  
Jennifer...   
Julia...   
The Darach rose from the body on the tree stump and raised her knife to the skies.   
The rain fell on her upturned face as she chanted something that sounded utterly dark and twisted.   
Lydia was still screaming.   
Allison was crying.

“What has happened?” Deaton’s voice came over the headsets.  
“Stiles!” Allison was in tears.  
“He has fallen?” Deaton asked.  
“Yes.”

Deaton made no response to that.  
Several long seconds passed while Lydia screamed,   
Derek sobbed and the Darach chanted.   
Then a voice came over the communications system that was unexpected.

“Lady Lydia, I have retrieved the Guardians. They are safe.”  
“Sif?” Allison was jolted from her tears.

Lydia’s scream deepened and became louder.  
The Darach turned to her as Allison dashed forward with something in her hands.

“Do not try to harm me Hunter, I have control of a fully awakened Nemeton! Not even your dead prodigy could hope to wrest my influence over it from me!”  
“We know.” Ally made a face at her as she smeared some sort of salve on Stiles throat and then drew a large syringe from her pocket.  
“He is beyond help fool! Too much blood has been spilled from his body, he is already at the threshold of death, and none can call him back.”  
“Oh, this is his own blood!” Allison flashed her dimples at the Darach, “With a little something extra in it, just for kicks.”  
“Nothing on this Earth could give him the power to defy the Nemeton and its hunger!”  
“OK, Stiles would want me to banter with you here, but I’m just going to do this first.”

Allison plunged the needle into the vein on Stiles’ neck and pushed the plunger home.   
The salve, whatever it was, had already sealed up the terrible wound in his throat.   
Allison could smell the flowers in it.

“Point one, Stiles is a lot more than just a human prodigy. Point two, his grandfather was willing to lend us a little bit of life saving fluid to help him live and point three... we knew your control of the Nemeton was unbreakable, but the Nemeton isn’t.”

She smiled sweetly at the figure, who was already losing her glamour and becoming the scarred monster she was beneath it.

“What have you done?” Julia screamed “You cannot... the currents will go mad. You have destroyed the entire valley!”  
“Not if we replace the Nemeton with a new one.” Lydia’s voice was harsh but triumphant, “Suck on that bitch!”  
“How? From where? It takes generations to create a new focus!” Julia was feeling the magic slip from her grasp. “To grow the tree; to connect it to the leys!”  
“It took a little while.” Allison was helping Lydia to her feet, “But Stiles worked it out eventually.”

“He knows how to grow a new Nemeton?” Julia roared “But he is dead!”  
“Less dead than you think!” Lydia croaked, “I didn’t stop screaming because I was tired you know.”  
“And he isn’t growing a new Nemeton, he’s replacing the old one, with himself.” Allison crowed.

Julia felt the life energy she had stolen all those years ago flickering out like a spent candle.

“You might say, he has a few Nemetons in his family tree!” Lydia grinned.

Stiles opened his eyes with a gasp, sitting up suddenly.   
The huge stump of the Nemeton cracked loudly into two pieces and fell apart.

“Whoa! Hi there everyone! Did you miss me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The third installment is already forming in the turgid mists of my Plot Bunny paddock (ie, my head)  
> and yes, Derek is going to be PISSED  
> I'd be interested to see who spotted a) the clues and b) the literary reference that signalled Lydia (and what its signifigance is)  
> Songs links below! (feel free to suggest others they might have danced to, everyone deserves some swing!)
> 
> Moonlight Serenade (Glenn Miller Orchestra)  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8zDQAOLVtM
> 
> Stardust (Nat King Cole)  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjU6ZjrQulc


End file.
